


The Difference Inbetween

by greeneggs101



Series: The Difference Inbetween [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Alternate Universe, Family Drama, Friendship, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-16
Updated: 2018-07-29
Packaged: 2019-05-23 22:14:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 45,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14942327
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/greeneggs101/pseuds/greeneggs101
Summary: A car door slammed in the distance, and I paused in my walk, just a few yards from home. I thought again of Grandfather’s words:I’d hate to leave you behind.I considered just turning around and walking away. Grandfather never put much effort into finding Ven, so I figured he’d never try to find me. But...The only place I’d want to run to is where Ven was and the only clue I had to that was Radiant Garden.Might as well get there in an air-conditioned car.[Sorta Reincarnation AU where Vanitas is on a search for his wayward blonde brother and finds friends along the way]





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, I have been working on this fic for a LONG time. This is sorta a reincarnation AU/ Once Upon a Time inspired. (very loosely inspired... but OUAT is still a disney property so.... it counts?) 
> 
> I wrote this to not only experiment with first person POV (which was more difficult since than I thought it would be, plus it was Vanitas... but it was a creative choice I thought worked best for this story) but also to experiment writing a rare pair (Riku Replica/ Vanitas). I hope the rare pair doesn't throw anyone off. The pairing is somewhat secondary to the overall story plot. 
> 
> Since it is a reincarnation AU, Vanitas is probably a little OOC, but he did have a slightly different upbringing and experiences I tried to keep his personality similar to what it is in KHBBS, but without the overbearing cruelty.
> 
> I am sorta nervous about posting this because it is my baby, and I write to relax after work. So please be gentle in criticism. Please let me know if there are any glaring errors. 
> 
> *I would like to note that Xehanort is not a nice man. At all. There will be moments where child abuse happens, both physical and emotional. The physical abuse is not too intensely described (in my opinion)*

The sky was clear, not even the moon to distort the view of the stars; tiny pinpricks of light struggling to shine against the overwhelming darkness. I let out a sigh and stretched out, soaking up the warmth in the clay roof tiles leftover from the summer sun. The feeling contrasted with the cooler night air. 

Turning my head, I looked towards the west where I could easily pick out a familiar constellation among the other stars. A group of three, red, blue, and green, all clustered close together. I focused on the green star. 

_“Here... pick a star.”_

_A small hand reached up, pointing to a star with a greenish glow._

_“Okay, Van... whenever you look at that star, I’ll be looking too. We’ll always wish on the same star.”_

_“Promise, Ventus?”_

_“Promise, Vanitas.”_

I shook my head, clearing the memory. It had been so long since Ven and I picked out that star on which to wish, a promise made right before he left. My voice had still been the high pitched volume of childhood. 

_I wish... I wish we didn’t have to leave. I wish you were here, Ven._

I knew the childish wish was futile. Ven hadn’t returned for nearly 4 years, why would another year make any difference? Still... I disliked change. I was too much like my grandfather in that way. The roof wasn’t comfortable, but it was preferable to sleeping in an empty room. 

The wind picked up a bit, and I shivered, momentarily wishing that I had brought the comforter out with me. I felt a disturbance as the wind pushed at something in my hand, I remembered the card I had brought out with me. 

I had nearly forgotten about the colorful card until I found it buried in the desk drawer. I held it close to see it in the darkness. A picture of a city skyline took up the entire front of the card, with the words “Greetings from Radiant Garden!” typed underneath the image. I didn’t need the light to read the simple message on the reverse: 

_“See you soon! -Ven”_

The postcard had arrived nearly six months ago. For the first time in a long time, I had felt excited, waiting on the roof outside our bedroom window everyday to see if I could catch the sight of him. With the passing months, however, my excitement faded and anger took its place. 

Now though... 

I yawned and sat up, rubbing my eyes with the back of my hand, trying to push off sleep for as long as I could so I could enjoy the view one last time. The wind was picking up again and I turned to grab the blanket by the open window. 

I glanced back into the empty room, the walls barren and the dresser cleared out. Grandfather wasted no time in getting us packed up to move. It had been barely a week since he came home with the news that he had taken a job at Radiant Garden University. 

I tucked the postcard into my back pocket and grabbed the blanket, dragging it out with me and bundling it around my shoulders. A ratty old thing, the green having faded from exposure to the morning sun, the blanket had been around for as long as I could remember. Though threadbare, it still provided warmth as I shrugged it around my shoulders.The blanket used to be big enough to cover both Ven and I, but now it was getting almost too small for me. 

I laid back down on the roof, focusing on the stars above. Ven used to tell stories about them, but they had faded to a half-remembered dreams. I felt my eyes drifting shut, even as I struggled to stay awake. 

I must have dozed off, for when I opened my eyes again, the stars were fading and I could see the horizon slowly turning purple and pink as the sun rose. I watched the stars as they became fainter and fainter, the light from the sun drowning them out. 

A sudden knock at my door jerks me out of the half asleep daze I had fallen into. I gasped, hurriedly crawling back through the window, closing it just as my grandfather entered.

“Today’s the day, Vanitas...” The old man walked over to where the boxes were neatly stacked. His eyes narrowed at my appearance, “Sleeping outside, again?”

“Better than this prison,” I mumbled. 

He smirked, but didn’t deny it, insteading running his hand over one of the closed boxes. I studied the floor by his feet. The carpet was still indented from where Ven’s bed had once stood, but that had been sold before Grandfather had accepted the new job. 

Even if Ven did come back now, his place here had long been forfeit. 

Finally, a sigh came from the older man, “I left messages with the neighbors,” he stated, clearly knowing my thoughts, “However, I would not put much hope into your brother coming back. He clearly does not want to be found.” 

_Not that you put in much effort_ , I thought to myself, but I merely nodded in quiet agreement. “That’s good, I guess.” 

My voice had deepened over the last year, luckily past the awkward squeaky stage that kept me quiet for months, and far from the childish innocent voice from my memories. 

“The movers will be here soon...” he trailed off, but I knew what he wanted. 

I sighed and began to strip the sheets from the unslept in bed. “I’ll pack the rest of this up then...” 

He nodded and walked out the door. I grabbed the nearest box, unfolding the flaps and shoving the sheets and blankets inside haphazardly. The blanket I had used outside didn’t quite fit, and I briefly thought about opening another box to shove it in, but decided to just fold it up and take it with me in the car. It might be nice to have something already unpacked when we got there. 

I glanced around my now bare room as I quickly changed out of my pj top and into the plain black shirt and jeans I had laid out earlier. The blank walls made me feel almost nauseous. Despite the white paint and the sunlight pouring in, the room felt strange and more of a prison than usual. I eagerly left, taking my blanket and suitcase downstairs to load into the car. 

By the time I got down there, Grandfather was already discussing the details with the hired movers in the kitchen. I quickly placed my suitcase by his. Glancing at Grandfather one more time, sure that he was sufficiently occupied, I crept towards the front door, careful to avoid the squeaky floorboard and narrowly missing the sharp corner of a haphazardly stacked box. 

My fingers had just wrapped around the doorknob when a cold voice stopped me. 

“Going somewhere, Vanitas?”

My heart dropped to my stomach, my fingers still gripping the doorknob. I swallowed and stood straight, turning to look back at him. “Just for one last walk around the block before I have to sit in the car for a few hours,” I stated, trying to keep my voice even. I don’t know why I was so nervous around this man, but ever since Ven left, things had changed. I had only noticed it once or twice when I was younger, but Grandfather had occasionally looked at Ven with a strange calculating look. After Ven left, I found that look directed more at me. Like I was a pawn instead of a grandchild. 

After a moment, Grandfather let out a soft grunt of acknowledgement. “Very well... but be back here within an hour. Wouldn’t want to leave you behind.” 

I thought again of the empty space next to my bed in the bedroom. Though the words were said with jest, I couldn’t help but feel that leaving me behind would be exactly something he would do. I nodded in agreement, quickly turning the knob and running out the door, shutting it firmly behind me. 

The hot, dry desert air hit me immediately, but it was a comforting feeling. I had lived here all my life, and though most would probably hate to live in a near ghost town in the middle of of the Badlands, it was the only home I knew. I walked down our dirt driveway and turned left on the dusty road. The cool breeze from last night had warmed to a hot gust of air that caused dust clouds to form in the empty fields to either side of the road. 

My destination quickly came into view, the broken and worn down grave markers rising from the ground, the hot air almost making them look like a mirage. The gate had long rusted shut, the wrought iron sign above stating:

_Daybreak Town Cemetery_

The first and last few letters had rusted down to nearly nothing, so from a distance the sign looked more like “break Town Cem.” I always thought the old name for the town to be a little too optimistic for a region like the Badlands, but Grandfather explained once that the town had a lake to the north and everything was much greener than it was today. Some natural disaster or another had happened, leaving the town as it was now: desolate and near empty. 

_And about to lose two more residents_ , I thought glumly. Nearly everyone else had left years ago. Grandfather homeschooled Ven and I (and then just me), and the postmaster from the town next over made only a weekly trip to deliver the mail. The town really was becoming a ghost town. 

I hopped over the short wall separating the graveyard from the road, and began to walk among the fallen stones. Ven and I would spend hours trying to read the names, but to no avail. The names were too worn down to be read properly. Instead we would walk among the stones, imagining the lives people used to live here, when the town was green and prosperous. 

Walking the narrow pathways between the markers, I spotted a glint of metal in the dirt. I hurried over, scooping the item from the ground, and brushing off the loose dust. 

Another keychain?

I held it in my hand, pulling out a different keychain from the pocket of my jeans. The one I pulled from the dirt was three silver circles interconnected, with two smaller ones situated above a larger circle. The one in my pocket was two half gears interconnected like an ‘S’, their brass and red color gleaming bright in the sunlight and the bright blue gem in the middle practically glowing. 

_“Ven look! Another one!”_

_“There’s another one over here too!”_

I shook my head, clearing my memories and absently placing both keychains in my pocket. Ven and I had been finding keychains in this graveyard for as long as we had been coming here. Every time I thought we had surely picked up the last one, another would show up, each keychain unique. Neither of us knew why there were so many. Perhaps they were left behind my mourners long ago. But none of them had been found on or near the grave markers. Instead, we always spotted them on the pathways, practically under our feet. 

In the distance I heard a truck door slam, and I sighed at the reminder that I should probably start making my way back. 

As I hopped back over the wall, the postcard from last night fell out of my back pocket and fluttered to the ground. I reached out to pick it up, studying it again for a moment in the light of day. 

The image was even more colorful and bright in the morning sun. Was this really the place we were moving too? The words on the back remained the same, “See you soon!” in Ven’s familiar handwriting. 

I furrowed my brow and put the card back in my pocket as I walked back to the house. 

Did Ven know that we would be moving to Radiant Garden? But how would he? Was he still there? Or did he pick up the postcard to send before he planned on returning? Did he mean to come back... or did something happen to him? Or was the postcard just a cruel joke?

My fist clenched thinking about it. Though I hadn’t known Ven to be mean while he lived here, I also never expected him to just disappear for years. I wanted to find him, if only so I could punch him in the face for never coming back. 

Another car door slammed in the distance, and I paused in my walk, just a few yards from home. I thought again of Grandfather’s words:

_I’d hate to leave you behind._

I considered just turning around and walking away. Grandfather never put much effort into finding Ven, so I figured he’d never try to find me. I could just run away from his cold looks, from my brother’s abandonment, from this abrupt change that was coming to my life. 

But...

I thought of the postcard in my back pocket. The only place I’d want to run to is where Ven was and the only clue I had to that was Radiant Garden. 

Might as well get there in an air-conditioned car. 

I walked up the driveway one last time, and after a quick glance at the house I had grown up in, I climbed in the car, gripping the backpack tightly between my legs. 

Radiant Garden would mean change. Not only from hot dry desert air, to cool breezes, or from an isolated ghost town to a populated and bustling city. It would also mean starting school, a notion so foreign to me that I felt sick thinking about it. 

But it would also mean getting the chance to look for Ven. He sent me that postcard for a reason, and though my head thought it had to have been just a cruel trick, my heart knew that Ven didn’t have a cruel bone in his body. Something stopped him from fulfilling the promise written on the card. 

Touching the postcard in my back pocket briefly, I watched in the mirror as Grandfather gave a few last instructions to the movers before making his way to the driver’s side. 

_See you soon, Ven._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vanitas's first day of school! :D 
> 
> I did base the highschool on the American system as I remember it (its been.... more than a few years since high school).

I could tell before I even stepped inside the building that school was stupid. 

Kids my age and older were loitering around the school entrance, talking in groups or playing some sort of game with a small ball flying around, kids keeping it in the air by hitting it with their knees or elbows. Another group sat in the grass, playing a card game, one side groaning when a new card was laid down. 

The number of kids was nearly overwhelming, but I was slowly growing used to the constant presence of other people. Grandfather had explained that I would be starting school as the new term started, so I wouldn’t have to catch up with the rest of the class, and my appearance shouldn’t be seen as overtly ‘new’ to my classmates. 

Still, it seemed odd to see the schoolyard so full, considering my only other impression of it had been when Grandfather took me with him to enroll at the school. 

I pulled out my schedule. The secretary had taken pity on me when Grandfather explained that I had been homeschooled my whole life, and had written out directions to all of my classes as well as given me a map. It seemed simple enough; the school had been built as two, two-story interconnected squares with a courtyard in the middle of each square. A separate wing to the north housed the gymnasium.

The directions to my first class seemed simple enough, and after glaring at the huddled groups situated outside the doors, I resolved to just find the classroom as soon as possible to have a few moments to myself. 

“No! Stop!” The sound of a scuffle followed the sudden shriek.

My hand paused on the door handle, and I turned. A pale blonde girl was picking herself up from the ground, her backpack and materials scattered around her while a taller boy with pink hair held a notebook in his hand. Evidently, the notebook was the girl’s as she quickly tried to reach for it as the boy held it high above her head. 

“Give it back, Marluxia!” she shouted, trying to jump to reach it, her white dress fluttering around her with every fruitless hop. 

“I just want to see all your new pictures, Namine,” Marluxia smirked. He turned away from her and opened the notebook. A taller blonde girl placed her hand on Namine’s head, effectively holding the smaller blonde down. 

“No!” Namine tried to pull Marluxia’s arm, “That’s private!” 

Marluxia’s smirk widened and he opened his mouth to say something else, but a pale blur ran into him, knocking the notebook to the ground. 

“She said to give it back!” A pale boy with unusual silver grey hair had wrapped his arms around the pink haired bully, tackling him to the ground. 

Marluxia growled, letting go of the notebook, elbowing the pale boy in the face. 

The boy jerked back from the hit, but quickly retaliated with one of his own, punching Marluxia in the face. The taller boy’s head hit the ground with the force behind the punch and he struggled to get in a position to fight back.

“Enough!” a voice rang out across the school yard, and a short older man, probably a teacher, pointed at Marluxia and the pale boy. “You two! My office.” The teacher turned, obviously expecting the boys to follow. 

The pale boy rolled off of Marluxia, reaching for the sketchbook that had fallen to the ground. Marluxia’s friend helped the older boy up, sending dark looks toward the pale boy, who ignored both of them. The pink haired boy stalked off in the same direction as the teacher. 

“Here, Namine,” the pale boy offered the sketchbook to the blonde girl, who accepted it gratefully. 

“Thanks, Rik-” the girl cut herself off, and I noticed a blush bloom across her cheeks. 

The pale boy jerked his head away from her embarrassed gaze and a frown crossed his features. “It’s fine.”

Namine looked to the side as well. “Thank you, Repliku.” 

The pale boy, Repliku, gave a stiff nod and then turned, running in the same direction as Marluxia and the teacher. 

The bell rang, and I hurriedly opened the door to enter the building before I could be mobbed by the rest of the students. My first class was close to the entrance and I entered quietly, long before anyone else. 

A young woman with long brown hair tied back into a braid was sitting at a desk, reading over some notes. She looked up when she saw me enter. 

“Oh, hello. Please, pick a seat wherever you like.” 

I nodded and glanced around. Though I didn’t feel like sitting too close to the front, I felt uncomfortable sitting too far away from the door, which was near the front of the room. I instead picked a seat a few rows up, but still at the end of a row. I could still make a break for the door if I had too. 

Other students began to file in, filling in the other seats. They all gave me strange looks. Apparently, even though Grandfather assured me that I wouldn’t stick out for being the strange newcomer, the students would still distrust someone they didn’t recognize from their previous year. The seat next to me stayed empty as the others filled up. 

Finally, the bell rang again and the teacher stood up. 

“Welcome class to another new year! This is Biology class, so please check your schedules to make sure you’re in the right place. 

A few classmates glanced down at their schedules, and I tried to discreetly do the same, but the information hadn’t changed since I last checked it out side. Biology, Rm 143, Teacher: Miss Gainsborough.

When no students hurried to leave the room, Miss Gainsborough smiled and continued on, passing out a syllabus and a list of class rules. I frowned when the syllabus reached me, unsure what, exactly, it was. At my old home, Grandfather usually just taught what he felt like for the day before locking himself in his office to review his own work. The syllabus looked like a schedule of lessons. 

I glanced up when there was a knock at the door. The pale boy from earlier stood there, a brilliant purple bruise forming where the pink haired boy had elbowed him in the face. 

Miss Gainsborough turned, “Oh, Repliku, I was wondering where you were.”

The boy frowned and handed the teacher a small slip of paper. She read it, her smile wavering slightly, before she nodded. “Very well. Please take the seat available.”

I then realized that the only seat available was the one next to mine. Repliku sat down with a quiet sigh and reached into his bag, pulling out a plastic bag full of ice and placing it on his bruised cheek. 

Miss Gainsborough then asked everyone to look over the rule sheet. I pulled it out, then glanced over at the boy beside me, who looked confused momentarily before letting out another sigh and glaring at the chalkboard at the front of the class. 

Class went slowly, with the first day seemingly consisting of only reviewing the syllabus and class rules. The other classes went the same way, though Miss Lockhart did try to start a lesson in Pre-Calculus, and assigned homework, claiming that the material was hard enough to waste a single day. 

Soon it was lunch time, and I pulled an apple I had packed earlier out of my backpack, sitting on one of the benches provided outside. I quietly observed the people around me, noticing that the same groups of people who had huddled together in the morning were now gathered together now, continuing conversations that were interrupted by the morning bell or sharing bagged lunches. 

I felt the bench move as someone took a seat beside me. Glancing over, I saw the same pale boy from earlier. His bruising had cleared up a little, enough that he could eat his sandwich without wincing. 

He noticed me staring and he leveled me with a glare. I glared back. Repliku huffed and glanced up at my hair, giving that an angry glare as well before turning back to his sandwich. 

I had never been self conscious of my hair before. I never had to be when it was just me and Grandfather, but now I hesitantly reached up and tried to flatten some of the spikes. Though I knew they would spring right back up the minute I took my hand away. 

Repliku let out a huff, and I realized that he had noticed my self-conscious gesture. I returned to glaring at him, finishing my apple and tossing the core at a nearby trash can. “What’s your problem?”

“You’re hair reminds me of someone.,” the pale boy grumbled, eating his sandwich with renewed vigor. “He’s an idiot. Figured you might be one too.”

I glared and shoved his arm. “That’s stupid.”

“Your hair’s stupid,” he responded, barely moving when I shoved him.

“Your name is stupid,” I retorted. 

Repliku stopped eating, may have even stopped breathing. Inwardly, I could hear Ven’s voice scolding me for being rude. I wasn’t a complete idiot; I had noticed earlier that there was some sort of negative emotion tied to his name. But I pushed anyway. “Who names their kid Repliku?”

The boy turned and I met his glare with one of my own. He narrowed his eyes, but I refused to look away, my hands balling into fists in preparation for the fight I knew was coming. 

Suddenly, a smirk broke out across his features and Repliku chuckled. 

“You’re right. It is a stupid name,” he agreed, offering a small grin. 

I stared, confused. It felt like we were about to beat the life out of each other, and now...what?

Repliku just shook his head and returned to his sandwich. “Your hair is still stupid.”

Again, my hand unconsciously ran through my hair, though I think I was just making it worse. “So?”

“So, nothing,” Repliku finished off his sandwich and threw his wrapper away. “Just making an observation.”

“You suck at observations,” I noted. I turned to look at him again. “You’re pretty good at fighting though...”

The boy hummed and rubbed his bruise, “You saw that?”

“Yeah... You nailed that guy.” 

Repliku huffed. “I was told he was lucky he didn’t have a broken nose. I didn’t hit hard enough.” He grinned at me.

I let out a grin of my own. Suddenly the bell rang again, signalling it was time to go to another class. I was getting annoyed with the bell. 

Repliku let out a chuckle, probably at my expression, “What’s your next class?”

“Uh...” I quickly glanced down at my schedule. “History... in Rm 207... with Mr Leonhart?”

“Ah... me too!” He pushed past me and indicated I should follow him. “At least I won’t have to suffer through Leon’s glares alone...”

“Leon?”

“Yeah... I know him outside of school...he’s practically my brother’s brother-in-law. But he glares at nearly everyone, so don’t worry too much about it,” He led me up a staircase and down a hallway. Students were already filing into a large classroom. At the front, a man with medium length brown hair and a scar across his face glared equally at all of the kids taking their seats. 

“Take a seat quickly,” the man stated, his voice not quite shouting, but loud enough to be heard over the student’s chatter. “We have a lot of ground to cover today and I won’t excuse tardiness.”

Repliku and I quickly took a seat in a similar spot to where we sat for biology. Mr Leonhart quickly took roll call as soon as the bell rang and also handed out a syllabus. I was quickly compiling a stack of them. 

“The major part of your grade will be a project, which you will complete with a partner. We’ll discuss more about the project at a later class, though you may pick partners before then if you want.” 

I felt a soft touch at my elbow and I jerked my arm away, glaring at Repliku who was smirking. “Partner?” he mouthed. 

I rubbed my arm when he had touched it, the area tingling with a strange electricity. Repliku continued to ignore my glare and kept looking at me with steady eyes and a smirk. I felt my cheeks heat up, a confusing and irritating reaction and I quickly looked away. All the same, I nodded. Repliku had been the only one to really talk to me all day. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the smirk transform into a smile, and my cheeks felt like they were on fire. I huffed and rubbed at them with my palm, turning my attention back to the teacher who was still talking about the class syllabus. 

“Any questions?” Mr Leonhart asked.

The girl directly behind me spoke up, “What’s with the scar?”

Mr. Leonhart sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Any questions regarding your classwork?”

To my right, Repliku was hiding a chuckle behind his hand. 

School passed slowly after that, and I didn’t have another class with Repliku. By the time the last bell rang, I was trying to hold back my yawns, though was largely unsuccessful. I made my way out the door with the other students, all of them also eagerly pushing their way to the sunshine outside. 

The crowds dispersed as I walked farther away from the school, many of the other students having been picked up by their parents, or taking public transport home. The house grandfather bought was close enough to walk home after school. 

I absently looked at the road ahead, my mind only paying attention enough to remember what turns to take. My thoughts drifted to the folded postcard I now kept in my backpack. Radiant Garden was much bigger than I expected, with many neighborhoods and districts. How would I ever find Ven?

Grandfather’s work kept him at the university till late, though I was still expected to make dinner by the time he came home. Home life had settled into much the same as it was when we lived in the middle of nowhere, except now I went to school instead of homeschool. Due to the long hours, Grandfather had also stopped martial arts training, at least for the time being. 

Footsteps behind me startled me out of my thoughts, and I paused, body tensing. A hand wrapped around my elbow and I moved without thinking, my other hand immediately clenching up. Turning, I threw a blind punch towards the person who grabbed me. 

My fist brushed against the ends of silver hair as the person ducked to avoid my punch. The hand grasping my arm tightened and I suddenly found myself on the pavement, my backpack digging painfully into my spine as the person - _Repliku_ my dazed brain provided - had apparently flipped me over his shoulder. 

“...sorry... are you okay?” Repliku was smirking a bit, though his eyes were soft as they glanced over my prone form. 

“Uhng...” I let out, still quite unsure what had happened. That answer apparently didn’t settle well with Repliku, and his expression softened even more, the smirk dropping into a frown. 

I felt gentle hands running through the back of my head. Gasping, I sat up, only to immediately want to collapse again as my vision darkened and swirled. “Uhg...” I groaned again. I took a deep breath and tried to speak again, with actual words this time, “What the hell?” 

“Sorry.... But you did throw the first punch,” Repliku seemed relieved that I was speaking again, and the smirk had settled back on his face. I was growing to hate that smirk. 

“You snuck up on me!” I shouted back, the pain from my head starting to fade. 

“I was calling your name for about two blocks... you didn’t hear me?”

I frowned. I guess I had been lost in my thoughts for a while, but it was unusual for someone to catch me so off guard. Frowning I looked away. “What did you want?”

Repliku’s eyes widened at the change of subject, but he didn’t mention it. “Oh... I just wanted to ask if I could copy your syllabus from Mrs. Gainsborough’s class... Biology? I... was kind of too embarrassed to ask for one after class.” His cheeks flushed and he looked at the ground. 

“Why didn’t you ask one of the other students?”

“Because...” he trailed off, and I got the feeling that he couldn’t quite think of a good excuse. 

I rolled my eyes. “Fine... Hang on, let me get it from my backpack.” I pushed myself onto my knees and flipped my pack off my shoulder, quickly unzipping it.

“Well... actually, do you want to head to my apartment for a bit? For a snack or something while I copy it down?”

I glanced up, and saw that he was blushing again. I was suddenly grateful for my own tanned skin tone, for having pale skin like Repliku’s would have made it difficult to hide such embarrassing emotions. 

“It’s just down there,” Repliku pointed down the same street I would have had to turn down anyway to get home. 

I considered it for a moment. Grandfather wouldn’t be home for a few hours, and therefore I still had time before I had to start on dinner. Finally, I shrugged, re zipping up my backpack. “Sure.”

Repliku nodded, and I thought his ever-present smirk morphed into a smile for just a moment. 

Together we turned down the street, and Repliku led me up the steps of a small apartment building. He quickly opened the door, then up three flights of stairs before stopping at a door marked 313. 

Repliku fumbled with the key for a moment until the door swung open into a kitchen area. There was a light on over the sink and another backpack leaning against a chair. 

“Oh, Riku must be home,” Repliku murmured, gesturing for me to take off my shoes and set my backpack by the door. 

“Riku?”

“My brother,” he quickly explained as he shrugged his own shoes off. 

“Hey, kid!” a voice called from down the hallway, which presumably led to the bedrooms. A tall figure stepped into the kitchen, his hair a near identical color to the boy next to me, though it was inches shorter. “How was your first day of sch--” The young man cut himself off, staring right at me with wide aqua eyes. After a heartbeat, the surprise melted away into a guarded look of caution. “Hello?”

Repliku chuckled next to me. “It’s the hair right?”

I felt my cheeks heat and I again tried to flatten my hair down. “What’s the deal with my hair?”

“It’s nothing,” Riku shook his head. “I’m Riku,” he held out his hand, through his eyes still held more than an inkling of caution in them. 

The guarded look put me on edge, though I took his hand all the same, shaking it as quickly as I could. “Vanitas.”

The caution in his eyes seemed to grow at the sound of my name. Was it because Repliku had brought me home without asking? I know Grandfather would not have liked me bringing strangers into the house, but Grandfather doesn’t seem to like anyone. 

Finally, Repliku seemed to catch on to the tense staring match and he quickly pushed past me and to the fridge. “Vanitas is in two of my classes, and I need his syllabus from Aerith’s class to copy down.”

Immediately, Riku turned away from me and to his brother, “Why don’t you have your own copy?”

“Um... because I was late to class...”

“Right... and that wouldn’t have anything to do with the bruise on your cheek?”

Repliku frowned and raised one hand to his cheek. The bruising had gone down, though the spot was still colored. “Maybe?”

Riku let out a long breath of air, “You can’t keep getting into fights at school.”

“You did!”

“Yeah well... you shouldn’t be copying me either. We’ve discussed that.”

“I guess we’re still more alike than either of us want,” Repliku slammed the cup of water he was holding, droplets landing on the countertops. 

I took a step backwards, my eyes going towards the door. “Maybe I should...”

“No!” Repliku hurried to hand me another glass of water. “Sorry... It’s... kind of a long story. Riku’s still not over it.”

Riku huffed, running a hand through his hair. “Whatever.”

Repliku let out a huff, gesturing that I should follow him to the kitchen. “You’re starting to sound like Leon...”

Riku sent a glare towards his brother, before turning back to me, most of the caution in his eyes gone. “So... you new around here?”

“Yeah,” I nodded, taking a sip of water. “Grandfather took a job at the university.”

“As a professor?” Riku wondered aloud, “I wonder if he’ll be teaching any of the classes I’m taking...”

I shrugged. “I’m not sure. I think he’s a scientist of some sort. Grandfather doesn’t really talk about work. He home schooled me for years though, so he knows a lot about everything.”

“Oh... is this your first time going to school?” Repliku asked.

I nodded and looked back at my shoes and backpack, part of me wanting to run away from the questions. 

“It’s okay,” Riku stated. “Repliku is pretty much new as well. He just started last semester.” 

I nodded but didn’t reply, instead setting my drink on the counter and reaching back towards my bag. Quickly, I flipped through the papers until finding the one Repliku needed. “Here,” I stated as I passed the paper to him.

“Thanks,” he grabbed the paper and turned to his brother, “Can I use your copier?” 

Riku nodded and Repliku hurried off town the hallway. 

“How did you two meet?”

I glanced back at Riku, then shrugged. “He insulted my hair and then tossed me over his shoulder when I was walking home.”

The older boy laughed, his eyes crinkling in amusement. “Seriously?”

“That’s not fair. Vani’s not telling the whole story!” Repliku called as he walked back into the room. 

Riku continued to laugh, but I was more concerned with what Repliku called me, “Vani?”

“Vanitas is too long,” Repliku complained.

“It’s literally one syllable longer.”

“Too bad.” 

I huffed and grabbed the syllabus back, “Whatever...” Shoving the paper into my backpack, I shoved my feet into my shoes. 

“Leaving already?”

I turned back to where Repliku was starting to get out his own homework, though his eyes were on me. 

“Yeah....” I sighed. “Grandfather will be home soon... and he doesn’t like it if I’m not home when he is.” 

“Right...” 

I wasn’t sure about the the tone in Repliku’s voice... it sounded sad, but not quite.

“You can come back tomorrow though, right?”

This time, it was Riku who spoke. I stared at the older boy who regarded me with another cautious expression, though this one was slightly different than the one from earlier. 

“I... Yeah, sure.”

“You don’t have to...” Repliku trailed off. 

“It’s okay...” I turned back and offered a very, very small smile. “I want to.” 

Repliku offered his own smile in return. “Great!”

My heart felt lighter as I exited the building and made my way back to the new house Grandfather had bought.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... after a seven hour flight delay and still not getting to go where I needed to be today, I figured something good should come of it. So... update! yay!

I decided that I hated math. I understood what I was supposed to do when Miss Lockhart talked about the material, but when I had to do the homework, I never seemed to get the right answer. 

I double checked my work before checking the answer in the back of the book, but to no avail. My answer and the answer in the back did not match up. Groaning, I closed the textbook, determined to take a break and check on dinner. 

The edges on the chicken casserole were just starting to brown when I pulled it out of the oven. Quickly, I placed it on the stove top to cool and turned the oven off. I was just getting the plates and forks out when the front door opened and Grandfather walked in. 

He didn’t say a word as he made his way over to the table, sitting at his end and placing his hands on the table. Quickly, I filled his plate first and grabbed a fork, hurrying over to him and placing his plate on the table. 

“Chicken, again?,” were the first words he spoke to me all day. 

I sigh even as I plate my own food and make my way to the table, shoving my books aside and taking a seat. “It’s all we have in the freezer. You want something different? Go to the store and buy it.” It was an old argument. Grandfather seemed to think that food would magically appear in our fridge without shopping for it. 

He let out a huff of derision but ate his chicken anyway. 

We ate in silence for a moment before he finally spoke again. “How are your studies going?”

I shrugged. “I’m keeping up okay, but math is hard.”

“Useless subject,” Grandfather huffed. 

I furrowed my brow. “Aren’t you a scientist though? Miss Lockhart says that the math we’re doing is used in a lot of fields, including science.” 

Another scoff, but then Grandfather gave a smile. 

A shiver went down my spine. I did not like that smile. 

“I’m a scientist of sorts, but my efforts are more in what you would call psychology. Specifically of the heart.”

“The heart?” I wasn’t completely sure, but I had thought psychology meant the brain area. 

“Yes... as I’ve told you before Vanitas, it is believed that long ago this world was separated into many different worlds, spread out across the darkness like stars in the night sky,” he gestured with his hands as he spoke, his eyes lighting up in the same way they always do when he spoke of the old legends. 

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, turning my attention back to my food. Of course, it always came back to this fairy tale. Ven and I had heard it dozens of times when we were younger. 

“In those days, people’s hearts could be overridden with an embodiment of darkness. If the darkness over ran the person completely, their heart would be taken and they would turn into an emotionless being called a heartless. However...” his voice lowered to a near whisper, “If a person was able to control the darkness in their hearts, to use it to their advantage, it is said that that person would have untold power.” He let out a chuckle that didn’t hold any humor. “Think what one could do with that sort of power, Vanitas.” 

At the sound of my name, my head jerked up. His gold eyes, similar to my own, bored into me. His gaze made me uncomfortable, unable to look away no matter how much I desperately wanted to. I got the feeling that though he was looking at me, he wasn’t really seeing me.

A pain started to creep into my head. My fist clenched around my fork and my face felt hot. I couldn’t drop his gaze, even as the pain in my head got worse. I wanted to shout at him, to remind him that I was a person, not a tool in his schemes. That I was better than Ventus. But my lips tightened instead, holding the words back. Shouting never helped. It only led to more pain. The anger still coursed through me though, the burning anger that never went away. 

Then his gold eyes turned away, dropping down to his food as if nothing had happened. 

At once, every ounce of anger that had just been coursing through my veins evaporated and I shivered a the sudden chill. 

My brow furrowed as I returned to my own meal. What was I so angry about? 

I had gotten angry at Grandfather before, but never that amount of... rage. 

Though I still had a plateful of food in front of me, I suddenly wasn’t as hungry as I was earlier. I pushed the food around as I mumbled, “Those are just legends.”

“Ah... but all legends are based in truth, Vanitas,” he stated, “It just may take a few tries to discover what those truths are. I’m working with a professor at the University named Ansem Wise. Perhaps one day, you could join us in our research...”

I refused to meet his gaze this time, nervous of that sudden surge of anger I had felt moments ago. Instead, I shook my head, trying to clear the lingering ache and instead stood up taking my plate back to the counter. 

“I don’t think I’m cut out for psychology,” I stated, trying to not let my hands shake as I pulled out food storage containers. But the nervousness that began at the table now followed me to the kitchen. “I’m not feeling well... I think I’ll take a walk around to clear my head before I finish my homework.”

“Very well,” Grandfather agreed, “I shall retire to my study for the evening.” 

I nodded and quickly covered the rest of the food with foil and placing it in the fridge, before grabbing my set of keys and running up to my room for my jacket. I hesitated for a moment, but Grandfather’s footsteps did not follow me up the stairs. Then I stuck my hand under my bed, searching for the granola bars I had taped to the bed springs a week ago a week ago, after purchasing them from a convenience store with the little money Grandfather had given me. 

I may not be hungry now, but I knew enough about the consequences of skipping a meal. 

I sighed as i quickly ripped one from its hiding place, stuffing it into my jacket pocket. Then I slipped back down stairs, my feet still learning where the squeaky floorboards were. I stumbled over one as I passed by Grandfather’s study, and quickly made a dash for the door before he could react to the sound. 

The late summer air was starting to cool off into early fall and the sky was beginning to darken as I made my way to the main street. As soon as the house was no longer in sight, I opened my granola bar, taking a large bite. Not really caring where I went, I glanced up at the sky, frowning. 

Cloud cover, not that the stars would have been visible anyway. I quickly discovered that the consistent lights in the city prevented a view of the stars in the sky, even on a clear evening. 

“Vani!” 

I stopped, turning to look behind me. Only one person ever called me that. 

Sure enough, Repliku was running towards me, a huge black dog at his side. Repliku stopped running when he got close enough. 

The dog did not. 

Though Repliku tried to pull on the dog’s lead, the canine pounced, his front paws landing on my shoulders and crashing both of us to the ground. 

“Ack!” I shouted trying to pry the dog off. But instead I got a big wet tongue in my face for my efforts. “Stop!” I shouted, but the dog ignored me. 

“Cerberus! Stop that!” I heard Repliku shout, pulling at the dog, who had found the rest of the granola bar in my hand and was now sniffing that eagerly. I glared at him, before stuffing the rest of the bar in my mouth. The dog whined in protest, but gave me one last lick to the face before getting off. 

I shuddered and used my sleeve to try and wipe the drool from my face. “Yuck...”

“Sorry... He doesn’t usually do that....” Repliku had a tighter hold on the dog, who continued to pant, his tongue hanging out of his mouth. 

“Ugh...” I glared at the mutt whose huge wrinkly face regarded me with something akin to nonchalance. “I didn’t think you had a dog.” I couldn’t remember any food bowls or dog leads at any of the times I was at Repliku’s apartment, but maybe the dog belonged to Riku’s much talked about but never seen boyfriend. 

“Oh... he’s not ours. I’m just walking him for Leon,” Repliku explained a he scratched behind the Cerberus’s ears. 

“Mr. Leonhart?” 

“Yeah... Cerberus is his husband’s dog, but Cloud’s away, and Leon has some sort of class, so I walk him instead.”

“Ahh..” Hesitantly, I offered my hand to the dog, who sniffed it and gave it a curious lick, but otherwise seemed to be disinclined to bite it. I cautiously scratched Cerberus’s small folded ears. Eagerly he began leaning into my hand, then into my side nearly knocking me down again. 

Repliku let out a laugh. “Cerberus is a good judge of character. Cloud rescued him from some creep trying to use him as a sort of guard dog. He can be pretty fierce if he doesn’t like you.”

I didn’t reply, but I did let out a small smile as I knelt down to continue petting the dog. Cerberus took the opportunity to sniff my hands and shirt before pushing into my chest. I let out a startled laugh and scratched behind his ears and down his chest. Cerberus seemed to like the attention as he kept trying to burrow into my shirt. I hoped I was petting him right, I didn’t get much practice. Grandfather never let Ven and I have a pet, though I always thought the few dogs we saw in town were cool, while Ven was partial to cats. 

“Want to walk with me? I’m just taking him to the park to play fetch before heading back,” Repliku offered.

I nodded giving the dog one last pet before standing up. Cerberus woofed quietly, but seemed to understand that I’d be going with them on their walk and started to lead the way. 

After a moment of walking quietly side by side, Repliku cleared his throat. “So... what were you thinking about? Almost thought I would have to flip you again to get your attention.”

“Haha,” I shrugged. “Nothing much. Just disappointed I couldn’t see the stars here.” I looked up, though now the sky was painted with a faint orange glow as the city light were reflected in the clouds. 

Repliku looked up as well. “Hmm... yeah.”

Cerberus barked louder as we got closer to the park, apparently in excitement for as soon as we got to the grassy area of the park, Repliku unhooked the dog’s lead and pulled out a green ball. I watched in amusement as Repliku threw the ball, Cerberus running after it, tripping over his feet more often than not. Repliku would throw the ball again whenever the dog returned it. 

“So....” Repliku asked as he threw the ball again. “What brings you out this late?”

I huffed and shrugged, “Nothing much... Grandfather was making me feel uneasy, so I took a walk.”

“Uh huh....” He trailed off as Cerberus returned another ball. “What’s it like then? Living with your Grandfather?”

I frowned, not really sure how to answer the question. “Well... I guess it’s just like living with parents. We live in the same house and he disciplines me when I mess up... I guess normal parents do that. I wouldn’t know.”

“What about your parents?”

I looked away, “...they died....” 

I felt a warmth at my wrist. Startled I looked and saw Repliku’s retreating hand. 

“Sorry...” 

I got the feeling he meant more than just the loss of my parents. I shook off the apology. “It... It is what it is... anyway, living with Grandfather is all I’ve ever known. He taught me...well.. He homeschooled me. I used to do more chores around the house, but now I’m usually just stuck with the cooking.”

“Always? That would suck...”

I shrugged, “It was either that or starve. Grandfather doesn’t cook. And Ven sucked at it...So I had to learn....” I couldn’t help but remember the first few times Ven had tried to cook, mostly ending up with burned but edible food. It was better than the practically nothing Grandfather had offered for the first few years. 

“Ven?” Repliku looked confused and I realized that it was the first time I had ever mentioned my brother. 

“Uh...” I rubbed at the back of my neck, “Yeah... My brother...”

“You have a brother, too?” Repliku was momentarily distracted when Cerberus bounded up and dropped the ball at his feet, waiting patiently for the silver haired boy to thow it again. 

“Yeah...” I watched as Cerberus chased after the ball after it had bounced off the ground. “He... he doesn’t live with us anymore.”

“Oh...”

Cerberus trotted up again, only this time instead of giving his ball back to Repliku, he bypassed the silver haired boy and headed straight for me. The ball got dropped on my shoes and the dog sat down expectantly. 

“Seriously?” I asked. Cerberus tilted his head as if to say _‘Yeah, now you gonna throw it?’_

Repliku laughed, “I guess he thinks you should play too.”

I sighed and rolled my eyes, but picked up the ball, only cringing slightly at the drool. “Okay... Fetch!” I through the ball as hard as I could and Cerberus darted after it. I couldn’t help but laugh when the dog made a running leap to catch it, only for the ball to bounce off his nose. 

“What’s it like,” I asked as Cerberus came running back, “living with your brother?”

“Hmm...” Repliku thought about it for a moment while I threw the ball again. “It was odd at first. We fought a bit, but not nearly as bad as when we were younger. We’ve...settled, as Riku would say. When his boyfriend moves to Radiant Garden permanently, he’ll be living there too, and then it’ll be really odd, but nice, I think. Like having a family again.”

“Huh...Sounds nice...”

“What was it like where you used to live?”

“Hot... dusty... full of sand...” I shrugged, “It’s nothing like Radiant Garden. The whole down was dying. The nearest school was over an hour away and the nearest postmaster barely made the trip anymore.”

“Sounds... boring...”

“Basically,” I glanced back up at the cloudy and orange colored sky, “The stars were nice though.”

I glanced over and saw Repliku glancing up as well. “Yeah... I’m sure they were...”

Cerberus came back with the ball and dropped it at me feet again.

Over the next few minutes, we exchanged questions as easily as we exchanged turns throwing the ball. 

“So...” I started, watching as Cerberus seemed to have gotten distracted from his mission of retrieving the ball, “Riku said you just started at that school last year?”

“Yeah...” Repliku clapped a few times to get the dog’s attention. Cerberus jerked and looked back before eagerly snatching his ball up and running back. Repliku threw it this time. “He had just started college.... Offered to let me move in with him.” He hesitated for a moment before continuing. “I needed a change of scenery.”

“Oh... boring where you lived too?”

“Not exactly...” He shrugged, “It was an island. We lived near the beach. I kinda get what you mean about the stars though. On warmer nights, I could go out to the beach and see them. Maybe not as clear... our beach had grown to accommodate tourists, so there were always the hotel lights to compete with. But it was nice.” 

_Then why did you leave?_ I wondered, but didn’t ask. Instead I nodded. 

“It wasn’t that bad moving here though. It was actually a sort of funny coincidence, but Namine’s mom had a summer rental right next door, so she used to spend summer’s there. I used to play with her a lot when we were younger. So when I moved here, I kind of already knew someone.”

“Namine?” I thought back, “Oh right, the blonde you defended the first day of school.” I also remembered how Repliku would blush around her whenever we passed her in the hallway. “Seems like a bit more than a friend though...”

Even in the dim orange glow from the park lights, I could tell that Repliku was blushing again. “Shut up... it’s not like that...” He let out a small groan and Cerberus immediately ran over to investigate the noise. “It’s... it’s nothing. She liked my brother more anyway.” He seemed irritated about that and I realized I should have just kept my mouth shut. Instead, I wrestled the slimy, slobbery ball from Cerberus and threw it. 

Cerberus bounded after it, nearly tripping over his own feet. Reflexively, I let out a laugh and felt relieved when I heard Repliku do the same. 

Eventually, Cerberus seemed to tire out and he came back, dropping the ball and licking at my hand. I looked back down at him and rubbed behind his ears. Repliku came up next to us and clipped the dog’s lead back on. 

“For what it’s worth, I’m glad I moved here. I got to meet you...” Repliku said, turning to walk back. I fell in step.

“...I am too...” I whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why yes, Cloud totally "dog-napped" Cerberus from a no-good Hades. I picture this Cerberus as basically a large Shar Pei/ Mastiff mix, with the wrinkly face and small ears, but larger than the average Shar Pei. Shar Peis can be pretty aggressive as they are very, very protective, but they are also very loving to the one or two people they love. My coworker owns five of them and one is so wrinkly and small she looks like a puppy and she is the best doggie in the world. 
> 
> Also, the "guess which song the title is referencing" contest is still on! Title hint for this chapter: The song is from a disney movie.


	4. Chapter 4

Eventually school fell into a familiar rhythm, waking up in time to get breakfast ready for Grandfather and then walking to school, eating my own breakfast on the way. Repliku had swim practice in the mornings, finishing up right before class started.

“You thinking of joining a team?” Repliku asked, toweling his hair dry as he emptied his locker for his first class. 

“Definitely not the swim team...” I trailed off, trying not to stare at his disheveled hair. My fingers gripped my books a little tighter to suppress the urge to run my hand through the damp locks. 

He huffed out a laugh and pulled out a comb to try and put his hair back into some sort of order. “Aw, why not? Afraid I’d win?” 

“I grew up in a desert,” I reminded him, leaning back against the locker next to his. “The closest body of water would have been the puddle that appeared outback during the stormy season. Not exactly good for swimming lessons.”

“Oh right...” He glanced over, putting both his towel and comb in his swim bag and pulling out his own books. “So... you can’t swim at all?”

“I’m sure I could flail my way about if necessary...”

Again he laughed and shut his locker, turning the dial to engage the lock. “While it would be amusing to watch you doggie paddle your way to shore, I could teach you.”

“Really?”

“Sure... I’d hate for my best friend to drown if he fell into a pool by accident.” He wrapped an arm around my shoulder. 

I felt my cheeks heat up at the contact, and I quickly turned my head, instead focusing on his words. “Best friend?”

He seemed to falter for a heartbeat before grinning, his smile a little strained. “Well... yes... I kind of think we’re best friends...” He trailed off awkwardly, his cheeks turning pink. 

“I guess... I mean, I’ve never had friends before...” 

His arm slipped down a bit so it was no longer so tight around my shoulders. “Well... I’m your friend now.”

“Best friend,” I reiterated. 

“Right!” 

Our conversation echoed in my mind all throughout biology, and I kept sneaking glances over to Repliku sitting next to me. I wondered if I should ask what the difference was between a friend and a best friend. 

The question kept me distracted throughout the rest of the day until lunch. I took a seat at the usual table, nibbling on the sandwich I packed. Lunch was half over before I realized that Repliku had not joined me. 

A sinking feeling settled in my chest, as I immediately glanced around the lunch area. He wasn’t at any other table, nor was he in line for the cafeteria food. I glanced over to where Namine and her friends were sitting. Namine and Repliku shared a class right before lunch, and I had often seen them walking together on their way to the cafeteria. 

I quickly packed the rest of my lunch as I walked over to the blonde girl. “Hey... Namine right?”

She glanced up, her eyes furrowing in confusion. “Yes?”

“Sorry,” I quickly held out my hand. “I’m Vanitas.”

“Oh...right!” She smiled and took my hand, shaking it firmly, “Repliku talks about you all the time.”

My cheeks felt a little hot and I hurriedly pulled my hand away, “Yeah well... have you seen him? He didn’t come to lunch today.”

“Oh...well... He was called to the main office early last period. I thought he’d be out by now though...”

“Right...Well, thanks.” I sighed and trailed off, waving goodbye to her as I walked away, heading in the direction of the offices. Repliku tended to get grumpy by the time history class rolled around if he didn’t eat enough at lunch time. I still had half a sandwich he could nibble on if he didn’t end up having enough time to eat after his meeting in the office. 

I didn’t even have to pass into the office wing before I heard his voice echoing through the hallway.

“I didn’t ask you to come and I don’t want to go home. Riku and I are getting along fine. Better than we ever did living with you!” 

I had never heard that much anger in Repliku’s voice. Even when he had tackled Marluxia to the ground in defence of Namine, he had been more annoyed than angry. Almost unconsciously, my pace quickened rushing past offices until I reached a small empty classroom that was usually used for makeup examinations. The door was only partially closed, allowing me to listen to whomever Repliku was yelling at. 

“Now, Repliku, I’m merely concerned for your well being,” a woman’s voice responded, calm even when confronted with an angry Repliku. “With your brother ill-” 

“He’s doing fine!” Repliku cut her off. “You don’t care about that, or about me, just your image of a perfect child. You think you failed on your first try, so you just try again. Riku 2.0, Riku’s replacement, Riku’s replica! Even my name isn’t my own!”

“Don’t be foolish. Your brother never lost his temper like this!” The woman’s voice rose into a hushed shout. 

“I don’t care what Riku did or did not do!” There was the sound of a desk scraping across the floor and I wondered if Repliku kicked it. “I am not him and he’s not me! We’re different people!”

The door opened suddenly and Repliku ran out, backpack slung over his shoulder. He glanced up, his gaze hardening when he saw me standing there, before turning sharply and running in the other direction. A moment later, I heard one of the heavy exterior doors slam shut. 

I hesitated for only a moment before going after him, glancing briefly into the classroom where the women still stood. All I could take in with that brief glance was that she was tall, with long raven black hair and a sharp chin. Her dark eyes glared at me and I felt a shiver run through me as I ran in the direction Repliku had gone. 

At the end of the corridor was a door that led into the courtyard and I could see Repliku’s white hair through the window before I even reached the end of the hall. I opened the door softly, and shut it just as quietly before I made my way over to the bench Repliku sat on. One of his knees was drawn up, foot resting lightly on the bench seat while the other foot tapped restlessly on the ground. He didn’t say anything as I sat down next to him. 

“So...” I trailed off, suddenly not sure what I was supposed to say.

“I hate her...” Repliku muttered, his hand clenching into a fist before relaxing minutely. 

“That woman?” I turned to look at him. “Who is she?”

“My mother...” He spat the word out like it was something distasteful.

I waited, but Repliku didn’t say anything else, just sat there. The bell rang for next period, students cutting through the courtyard to make it to the other end of the building. Some glanced at us as they passed, but most stared straight ahead, focusing on their destination. After a few minutes, the second bell rang, indicating that class had started. Repliku still hadn’t moved, so neither did I. 

Finally, the waiting got to be too much and shrugged my backpack off my back, quickly opening it and digging through. Repliku didn’t even turn to look at me as I pulled out the sandwich I had saved from lunch. I held it out, but he made no move for it. I tapped the sandwich against his wrist. “C’mon, you don’t gotta talk but you gotta eat. You get grumpy when you’re hungry.” 

Finally, he deemed my sandwich worth a glance, but he turned away just as quickly. “I’m not hungry.” In direct contrast to his words, a loud grumble came from his stomach. 

“So your stomach’s just grumbling for the heck of it?”

He huffed, but took the sandwich, taking an angry bite out of it. I re-zipped my backpack but left it on the ground, drawing my own knees up in a similar position to Repliku’s. The bench we were sitting on was a bit hidden in the overgrowth, and out of sight from many of the windows, so it was unlikely we’d be seen by any teachers or deans. 

Repliku continued to eat in large, angry bites while I leaned back against the bench to enjoy the breeze on my face. After a moment or two, I felt something wet splash on to the back of my hand, which had been resting next to Repliku’s thigh. Startled, I looked over to find tears streaming down Repliku’s face. He had finished off the sandwich but looked to be having trouble swallowing the last bite as he choked back a sob. 

I struggled not to say anything, a snarky comment easily coming to my lips, but I tightened my lips in a grimace instead. Pulling the sleeve of my sweater down a bit, I raised it to to wipe under his eye. Repliku froze for an instant before he coughed out a loud sound, something between a sob and a laugh. But he didn’t push my hand away. 

“You’re gonna miss class,” the white haired boy whispered. 

“So are you,” I muttered back, moving on the bench so I could reach the tears on his other cheek. 

Another choked off sob. Then Repliku rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand. ‘We should go back in. Leon’s going to kill us.” 

“Or at least maim us,” I attempted to joke back and was rewarded with a small smile. 

“Tempting options, but the paperwork would be annoying.”

Be both flinched at the voice and turned to see Mr. Leonhart glaring at us from the doorway. 

He leveled his glare at Repliku first, “Fighting on the first day of school and now skipping class within the first month?”

Repliku let out a shrug. “My mother...” he trailed off, but Mr. Leonhart seemed to understand for he sighed and nodded. 

“And you?” His gaze turned to be and I struggled not to let out a whimper. 

“I wasn’t going to let him sit out here by himself,” I reasoned, hoping it would be enough. 

The teacher let out another sigh. “Just follow me back to class, we’ll discuss it after school in detention.”

We both let out a groan, but I also had a feeling we were being let off easy. Mr. Leonhart followed us closely as we hurried back to class. We found the other students finishing up a worksheet as we took our seats and Mr. Leonhart began to lecture. 

I didn’t see Repliku again until we met back up at Mr. Leonhart’s classroom for detention. He had washed his face of the tears at some point and was looking slightly better than this afternoon. 

“Sorry I got you detention.”

The words were soft and full of regret. I glanced up and saw Repliku refusing to meet my eyes as a hand tucked a strand of hair behind his ear. 

I grinned and lightly punched him in the arm. “Well, you’re my best friend, right?” I wouldn’t let you get into trouble on your own.”

Finally, I spotted a grin on his pale face as Repliku rubbed at the spot where I punched him. 

Together we entered Mr. Leonhart’s classroom, finding him grading papers at his desk, which was a usual sight. What was unusual though was the blond leaning against the wall behind him, arms crossed and one foot resting on the wall. His eyes were closed, and for a moment I thought he might be sleeping.

Mr. Leonhart seemed to be deep in thought as he graded, so I gently tapped the whiteboard to get his attention. The sound also caused the blonde to glance up, staring at me with a mixture of annoyance and confusion. 

“Sor-” the blonde started but Mr. Leon cut him off. 

“Okay, boys. You’re going to be writing a one page essay about why it’s important to arrive to class on time. Repliku, I want you to sit near the door, Vanitas, up here by me. Once you’re done, you’ll clean the classroom.”

“Really, Squall? Child labor?” the blonde asked, a slight smirk cross his face.

“You want to go to dinner tonight or not, Cloud? They cut back on custodial staff so the faculty has to clean their own classrooms. Why not let the students clean the place where they learn?”

The blonde, Cloud, sighed. “Fair enough... I’ll go get us a cup of coffee then.”

“You could just wait at home. I’d be here grading papers even if I didn’t have to supervise-” Mr. Leonhart trailed off as Cloud leaned in to lay his lips softly on the brunet’s cheek. 

“I know... but we haven’t spent much time together lately. I miss you.”

Mr. Leonhart’s cheeks flushed, and he cleared his throat, glaring pointedly towards where Repliku and I were pulling out our pens to write our essays. We both quickly averted our eyes but heard Cloud give a loud laugh anyway as he left the classroom. 

Mr. Leonhart watched him go for a moment before clearing his throat again and glaring at us, cheeks still red. “Back to work, both of you.”

Repliku hid a chuckle under his hand, but dutifully began his essay. I observed the teacher for a moment longer, a little confused. I had never seen two adults be... affectionate like that before. I supposed that if I had known my parents, they would have been like that. But as it had always been Grandfather and I for the majority of my life, I now realized that I didn’t really know how adults showed... affection. 

I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. I didn’t have time to focus on feelings right now. Turning my attention to my essay, I hurried through it. 

Repliku and I finished our essays at about the same time, and Mr. Leonhart barely glanced through them before showing us the cleaning supplies. Cloud came back at some point, coffee in hand for him and Mr. Leonhart. 

I swept the classroom while Repliku wiped down all of the desks. The dust and dirt here was pretty minimal, no where near the large and numerous dust piles I would sweep out of the old house every day. Once that task was done, Repliku and I began to clean the whiteboard. 

Cleaning the bottom half was no problem, but the top proved to be a bit more trouble. I glared at the top three inches that were just out of my reach. And of course, they were some of the dirtiest from where Mr. Leonhart would rewrite the notes from the days lecture over and over again. 

I heard a laugh to my left and I glared over at Repliku where he was trying to hold back a chuckle. Instead he gave me a smug look, barely having to stretch as he cleaned those top three inches on his side of the board. 

Childishly, I stuck out my tongue and instead returned to the problem at hand. If I hopped a little, I could just barely reach the top. 

I heard another chuckle behind me. Turning, I saw Cloud leaning against one of the desks and smiling a little. 

“I can get those last few inches,” he said, “Why don’t you guys just take the trash out and head home.”

Repliku and I both looked at Mr. Leonhart who was staring at his husband, but nodded anyway. “You’ve done enough.”

I hurriedly threw my cleaning supplies back into the bucket and grabbed my bag, watching as Repliku pulled the trash from the bin and grabbed his own bag. Together, we hauled the trash to the bins outside the cafeteria and then headed for the exit. 

As we walked through the parking lot I saw Mr. Leonhart and Cloud walking hand in hand. The blonde waved when he spotted us, then pulled Mr. Leonhart over to where a dark colored motorcycle was parked. 

Repliku seemed to have recovered from his darker mood earlier in the day, and he walked with a calm, but contemplative look. 

“Did you know my name is the words ‘Riku’ and ‘Replica’ mashed together?”

“Huh?” the voice was so quiet, I barely heard it and it took a moment for the question to register, “Oh, well... I mean, I knew it was a dumb name.”

“Heh,” Repliku sighed, “It’s not really a name at all.” He readjusted his bag, and looked straight ahead. “When we were younger, Riku and I thought it meant that I was supposed to replace him.”

I thought back to what Repliku had shouted at the woman earlier: _Riku’s Replacement, Riku 2.0..._

“You can’t just replace someone,” I muttered, looking for oncoming cars before crossing the street, Repliku following. 

Once we were across, Repliku sighed and ran a hand through his hair, pushing it away from his face. “About a year or so before I was born, Riku ended up in the hospital. He had been running outside when he just collapsed. The doctors said it was some sort of heart condition... I don’t really understand it. My parents just said that his heart was weak. Essentially though, it meant that till highschool he was in and out of the hospital.” He paused in front of his apartment. Instead of walking inside, he sat down on the front steps, patting the seat next to him in invitation. 

I briefly thought of the dinner that Grandfather expected on the table, detention or no. Then I sat down next to my friend. 

Grandfather could make his own dinner for once. 

Repliku offered me a slight smile as I got comfortable, swinging my pack around to sit it in between my knees and leaning back. “What does that have to do with you being a replacement?”

“Well... in that first year, somewhere between the hospitalizations for symptoms and the extended treatments, one doctor or another mentioned that it would be easier and faster if they didn’t have to search for a donor everytime Riku needed a treatment done... So... My parent’s paid a lot of money to have me.”

“Um...” I thought back to Miss Gainsborough’s biology lessons, “Even if they had another baby, there’s no guarantee that you’d be a donor match in everything Riku’d need.”

“Like I said, they paid a lot of money,” Repliku shrugged, “I’m not exactly a clone of him, but we’re pretty close. Close enough that my parents didn’t even bother to come up with an original name for me, just... Riku 2.0 essentially...” Repliku huffed and leaned back as well. “It’s so dumb. By the time I would have even been old enough to donate anything, Riku was on to different treatments, something that was working a lot better with medication. When Riku entered high school, he could even do competitive sports again as long as he had the medication he’s on now. I wasn’t needed anymore.” 

His voice cracked and he rubbed furiously at his eyes with the bac of his hand, “Riku still had to go to the doctor every once in a while, but he was getting better. Instead, my parents were saddled with a child they didn’t want, but had to have. Just a a pointless replica of the one they already loved.” 

He rubbed again at his eyes, instead titled his head up towards the sky, like he could keep the tears in that way, “Riku and I grew up resenting each other. I hated him for being first, for getting all of our parents attention. He hated me because he thought I was going to replace him. And our parents encouraged the resentment! It became a competition. Who could do their chores the best and the fastest. Who gave the best present at Christmas. Who got the best grades, who won more sports competitions. Our parents would always be like “May the best child win’ or ‘we’re looking to downsize, which one of you is good enough to stay?”... you know, shit like that.”

“That’s... horrible.” I really couldn’t think of how else to phrase it.

Repliku barked out a harsh laugh. “Y’think?” 

“But you and Riku... you don’t resent each other now...”

“Yeah... two years ago I had snuck down to the kitchen for a glass of water long after I was supposed to be in bed. Our parents were still up talking and I overheard them... They were talking about which son they’d rather have.” He took a shuddering breath. “Mom was in the middle of making an argument that they should keep us both incase... incase Riku’s heart gave out and they’d need a replacement.” 

My jaw dropped, “They...They wouldn’t.”

“I don’t... I’m not sure if they would have.” 

I felt his warm hand squeeze mine and I realized that, without thinking about it, I had grabbed his. I blushed and hesitated for a moment, but squeezed back. “What happened?”

“Surprisingly, I ran to Riku. I think he was studying for some sort of test and... I don’t really remember what all I shouted, but something hit him hard because he was hugging me before I stopped shouting.” Repliku huffed, and used his free hand to wipe at his eyes, “We never hugged before that, but something was different. He wouldn’t let go and just kept telling me that I was more than a shadow. He promised he’d fix it. And he did!” Repliku tried to smile and I offered my own in return. 

“I started fighting with my parents more, especially mom,” Repliku continued. “Even when I told her what I had overheard, she wasn’t even sorry about it. Riku couldn’t stand to look at her, kept hanging out with his boyfriend and often taking me along. Then...I don’t know how, but around last Christmas a social worker came in and asked if I’d rather live with Riku or my parents. I chose Riku immediately, and we came here just at the end winter break last year. I started classes in the spring semester.” 

Repliku huffed and pushed his hair out of his eyes, “Mom comes around every other month or so. She couldn’t find where Riku and I lived, so she shows up at the school instead. Keeps trying to convince me to move back in... but I’m done with being treated like that. And I’m reminded of it everytime she calls my name.”

He seemed to collapse with that last confession, as if telling his story took all the energy he had left for the day and he fell sideways till his head landed in my lap. 

My cheeks hurt, they were burning so bad but I couldn’t bring myself to push him off. Instead, I raised my hand and began to brush it lightly through his hair. He let out a soft sound. 

“My father died in a car crash about a month or so before I was born. I never knew my mother,” I mumbled, my hand absently brushing through Repliku’s soft hair. “She died giving birth to me. I always thought my grandfather resented me for that. He named me Vanitas. It sort of means empty or worthless in Latin. I thought he was trying to say something with that.”

“Or he’s just shit at names...” Repliku mumbled. 

“Yeah... maybe...” My fingers got caught in a particularly difficult tangle, and Repliku grunted in pain, but he didn’t move. “I used to hate it... and I’d wonder what my mother would have named me. I’d ask, and ask, and ask, but no one could say. I tried all sorts of names, Zephyr, Eurus, Aeolos... but nothing was really... me. In the end, Vanitas just stuck...”

“I like your name,” Repliku turned so he was facing me. “... It may have meant something else, but you made it your own.”

“Well... my point is that if ‘Repliku’ doesn’t fit you, doesn’t fit who you are, then what’s stopping you from changing it?” My hand stopped stroking his hair as his brow furrowed.

“I... nothing I guess. I never thought of that though. What would I change it to?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know... but I’m sure whatever it will be, it’ll fit you better than Repliku ever could. 

He frowned in thought before sitting up. He turned back, mouth opening to speak but a sharp deep voice from the doorway caught our attention.

“So... how was detention?”

We both glanced up to find Riku staring at us, holding the door to the apartment building open. 

“Leon made us clean the classroom, but I think he let us out early cause Cloud was there,” Repliku sighed and got out of my lap. I tried not to be disappointed. 

“Right,” Riku held the door out further as Repliku grabbed his bag. I picked mine up as well. 

“Where’s So--?”

“Still taking care of a few last minute things,” Riku interrupted, before sighing and following us up the stairs. “Dare I ask what Mom wanted?”

“Ah... the school called you then?”

“Leon did shortly after giving you two detention,” Riku got out his own keys to open the door, evidently having just locked it to go looking for us. “She’s not supposed to have contact with you.”

“Tell that to the school.”

“I have...” Riku held the door while we both filed in, “Sorry you got dragged into our mess, Vanitas.”

I shrugged, “It’s alright... I like getting involved in Repliku’s messes.” I put my bag next to his, “It’s what friends do... right?”

I looked up at both of them, truly wondering if I did have the right idea. Evidently I did, as Repliku’s face was a mix of pride and happiness, while Riku just grinned and ruffled my hair. 

“You got that right,” the older white haired boy grinned, “Now... do you have to go home soon?”

I shook my head, “Nah. Let Grandfather fend for himself tonight.” It was a rebellious thought, one that I knew would have repercussions. But when I looked at my best friend’s grinning face, I found that I could have cared less what my grandfather would do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't really picture Riku and Repliku's Mom as being anyone specific... at first... but yeah, there's definite Maleficent undertones there. It's just... picturing her actually reproducing is...weird at best.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For the confusion over character's current ages:
> 
> Ventus-19  
> Vanitas - 15  
> Repliku- 15  
> Namine - 17  
> Sora - 18  
> Riku - 19
> 
> Other characters are written within in this age range, but will be explicitly stated if/when they appear.

“Today we’ll be discussing your semester project. Does everyone have a partner?” Mr. Leonhart’s eyes darted around the room, but everyone was already settling near their partner.

 

Repliku had practically dove into my lap in his haste to avoid one of the girls making a beeline for him. “Sorry, Alice, Vani and I were partners weeks ago!”

 

The blonde girl pouted but waved in understanding, instead going to sit next to a boy named Peter.

 

Repliku sighed as she walked away, “Alice is nice enough... but she kept falling asleep last year when we did our English project. Kind of like she’s lost in her own little world.”

 

I grunted in agreement. Even during History class, Mr. Leonhart would have to call her name several times before she’d answer, often asking him to repeat the question.

 

I then realized that Repliku was still practically sitting on me and I pushed him gently away, hoping that my blush wasn’t that noticeable. “Go sit in your own chair, this one’s occupied.”

 

“But I was comfortable...” he teased, but sat back in his own seat, nudging the desk closer instead.

 

Once everyone was quiet, Mr. Leonhart continued, handing out paper packets to each person. “Your assignment is to explain one of the semester's themes in a unique and memorable way to the rest of the class. I will assign your team the theme, but how you want to present it to class is up to you. The paper will be an explanation of your theme and how your theme and presentation work together.”

 

As he handed out the packets, I glanced over to where Repliku was still nudging his desk closer till he was almost on top of me again. I was mildly surprised to find that I didn’t mind that much.

 

I hated the rare occasions Grandfather had taken me in to one of the more populated towns of the Badlands. It was usually for grocery shopping for for a quick trip to the mall (clothes were another thing that Grandfather seemed to think would magically appear. It wasn’t until I was literally bursting the seams of Ven’s hand me downs, that he finally took me to the store.) Compared to my life at home where I was left mostly to myself, everywhere we went was way too crowded. The sudden influx of bodies in my personal space would get to be too much and I wished that I had a personal bubble around me to push everyone away.

 

The kids at school always gave me the same feeling, Repliku never inspired that in me. I didn’t mind him getting close, and sometimes I even found myself wishing for him to be closer still.  I still wasn’t sure what, exactly, I did feel whenever he was around, but it wasn’t a negative feeling.

 

I felt a sudden tug on my sweater sleeve, startling me out my thoughts. “What do you hope we get?” Repliku asked. I glanced down to where his hand was still pulling at my sleeve and he gave me a grin and pulling one last time at the fabric before letting go.

 

I let out a sigh, stretch my arms above my head. “Something interesting, I hope.”

 

“Not something easy?” Repliku wondered.

 

“Aw man!!” A sudden groan from across the room jerked our heads towards the source of the noise. Alice’s partner, Peter, was shaking his head in annoyance, though Mr. Leonhart just walked away, unconcerned with the redhead’s plight. Alice looked thoughtful at whatever the assignment was.

 

“It doesn’t seem that bad...” Alice said, opening the packet to look at the requirements.

 

“It’s coming of age customs and traditions!” Peter complained, slumping in his chair, “How lame...”

 

Repliku and I chuckled at Peter’s expression and Mr. Leonhart’s pointed disinterest.

 

“If it’s too easy, we’ll get bored. Then we won’t do as well...” I said answering Repliku’s question as we turned back to our notebooks.

 

“True...” the silver haired boy agreed, “But if we got the project done quickly, we wouldn’t get bored with it.”

 

“Boredom or not, I expect exemplary work.” Mr. Leonhart had finally got to us, passing us a packet to share. “And no skipping class even if you get it done early...”

 

Repliku’s face reddened as the teacher walked away. He must have still been embarrassed and angry over his mother’s appearance the other day.

 

Since that day, I’ve tried not to call out to him by his name, knowing how much it hurt him. But at a school with over 200 students in the Junior class alone, sometimes a name was required to get someone’s attention.

 

Quickly, we glanced over the hand out. Our theme “Passing Down History” was written on top, along with a quick blurb as to what Mr. Leonhart was looking for.

 

“So a unique way to explain history?” Repliku groaned, “What does that mean?”

 

“Not history...” I read further into the paragraph Mr. Leonhart had written, “Passing down stories ...like... oral storytelling and stuff...”  

 

Repliku nodded, “Like the Iliad and the Odyssey? Mr. Phil had to sub for my Literature class the other day. I think those are the only two books he’s read cover to cover...”

 

“The Freshman PE teacher?” I let out a laugh.

 

“Exactly!” Repliku grinned, “I think that's where he gets most of his ideas for freshmen _‘Basic training_.’”

 

I let out another laugh. Neither Repliku nor I had gone through the “training” ourselves, having arrived at the school after Freshman year. But according to the other students, it was notoriously tough. Effective, but brutal, and his reputation as a former Olympic coach kept parents happy.

 

The bell rang and we eagerly got up from our seats.

 

“Still gonna meet up after school?”

 

“Of course!” I said, putting the the history assignment into my backpack.

 

Together, we pushed our way through the busy hallway, our final class in a similar area of the school.

 

“Great! We can talk about the project then,” Repliku grinned before disappearing through an open doorway to his Economics class.

 

I sighed as he disappeared, turning to finish the walk towards my own class.

 

“That was quite a sigh...”

 

I nearly jumped at the sight of the blonde girl next to me. “Namine!”

 

She laughed and fell into step with me. “Never thought I’d be able to sneak up on you. You must have been really distracted.”

 

I blushed and turned away, but couldn’t really deny the accusation. I had been distracted. Repliku was good at keeping me distracted.

 

I should have found this more annoying than I actually did.

 

Namine was still giggling to herself. “What’s with you?” I grumbled, still wondering why she felt the need to follow me. I didn’t think her class was down this hallway.

 

“It’s nothing... sorry...” she appeared apologetic, even as she worked to stifle her giggles, “It’s just... Repliku’s changed since you got here...”

 

I frowned, “What about it?”

 

“Nothing!” a red blush highlighted her cheeks and she pulled her books closer. “It’s nice. To see the real him.”

 

“What does that mean?!” I scoffed, “He’s always real!”

 

“Yeah... he is...” Namine sighed and slowed down a bit. I still had a minute before the bell rang, so I hung back. Whatever was going on, Namine didn’t approach me without a reason.

 

“It’s just... Repliku’s been through a lot. More than I think you know...”

 

“I know about his parents, if that’s what you mean...”

 

“Yes... and no...” She trailed off vaguely, “It’s just... don’t go breaking his heart. Okay? Not like... not like how I did. His heart might shatter.”

 

I glared at the other girl, my fist clenching up reflexively. “Listen. I don’t know what the heck went down between you two last semester, but I know he’s trying to fix it. To be friends with you. But I don’t know what kind of friend you think you are if you think his heart’s made of glass or something! It’s not gonna shatter, he’s stronger than that!”

 

There was a pause. In the awkward silence, the bell rang.

 

Namine took a step back at my outburst and I felt bad for raising my voice. Then I felt irritated at myself for feeling bad. I didn’t owe her anything.

 

A voice at the back of my head that sounded a lot like Ven urged me to apologize though. I had just opened my mouth to do so when I suddenly felt two skinny arms holding me tight.

 

“Thank you, Vanitas...” Namine whispered into my shoulder, the corner of her book digging into my ribs.

 

Before I could react to the impromptu hug, she let go and disappeared into a nearby doorway. I stood there for a moment longer before shaking my head.

 

What was that about?

 

Glancing up at the clock, I realized that would soon be inexcusably late to class and I hurried towards the room, ducking in just as Miss Lockhart made to close it.

 

The look she gave me made me quickly swallow my excuses and hurry to my seat, getting my notebook out and starting on the warm up problem written on the board. I copied down the problem, then tried to focus on it but my mind wandered.

 

_Thank you, Vanitas_

 

What did Namine mean? Thank you for _what_? For standing up for Repliku? Was she thanking me for yelling at her? But that didn’t make sense...

 

“Mr. Vanitas!”

 

I jumped at Miss Lockhart’s voice. A couple of the kids next to me chuckled and I felt my face redden. “Uh... yes?”

 

“Could you explain the first step in solving this problem?” she pointed up to the board.

 

I swallowed around a dry throat and glanced down at my unhelpfully blank sheet. “Ummm...” I looked back at the board.

 

_Find the slope between two points:  [7,1] [2,5]_

 

“....Uhhhh...” _Come on brain! Focus!_ “You... gotta pick one set of numbers to be  x-1 and y -1, and the other set is x - 2, and y - 2,” I ventured, hoping I was right. “Then use the slope equation?”

 

The stern look remained on Miss Lockhart’s face. She clearly knew that I was guessing, but she nodded anyway, “Correct. Which numbers did you pick as x -1, y -1?”

 

“Um... 7, 1,” I answered, quickly writing down what I was saying as I was doing it. “Then 2 and 5 are x - 2 and y - 2.”

 

“Okay then.” She wrote down my answers before calling on someone else to finish the problem.

 

I struggled to pay attention during the rest of class, and, thankfully, Miss Lockhart didn’t call on me again to answer questions.

 

Namine’s actions still bothered me. She looked scared of me for a bit after I yelled at her. Was it cause I raised my voice? I didn’t think I was a scary person... or maybe I reminded her of someone else.

 

I should probably still apologize to her. Now that my anger had cooled, I felt a bit bad about yelling. I hadn’t meant to, but she talked as if Repliku was weak.

 

My friend wasn’t weak, neither in body nor in heart. But.... then again, Namine has known him longer than I have.

 

Maybe Repliku had changed.

 

Was that what Namine was thanking me for? But... I don’t think I should be credited for that. If Repliku seems like he’s changed, then it’s only because he’s just... being more of himself than he had been previously.

 

“Vanitas?”

 

Again I was startled out of my thoughts by Miss Lockhart. Blinking, I realized that the rest of the class was getting ready to leave.

 

The final bell must have rang.

 

I hurriedly put my notebook back in my bag.

 

“Vanitas, are you alright?” Miss Lockhart asked.

 

I nodded, “Yeah... sorry. Just... distracted today.” I shouldered my backpack and rubbed at the back of my head with my free hand.

 

She eyed me again, like she didn’t quite believe me. “Very well... Just know that if anything ever bothers you, you can approach any one of the teachers here. Mr. Leonhart, Miss Gainsborough and I know you might be having a hard time adjusting...”

 

Did all the teachers here know one another?

 

I shrugged, “I’m fine...” Then I hurried to the door, eager to end that conversation.

 

I nearly tripped over Repliku on the way out.

 

“What’s the rush?” He asked, steadying me before we both fell over.

 

“Nothing...” I gave another shrug. “Just... been an odd afternoon...”

 

“...right...”

 

Together we slipped out into the sunshine.

 

“Bye, guys!” a cheery voice called out. We turned and saw Namine running past us, waving as she did so. As she reached the curb, she quickly shared a hug with someone with dark red hair. Together they slipped into a white car and drove away.

 

“Namine’s been acting weird...” Repliku stated, before starting to walk in the direction of his apartment.

 

“You’re telling me,” I huffed. “Today she hugged me...”

 

“What?” Repliku shot me a look. “Like... a _hug_ hug?”

 

“...What the heck is a _hug_ hug?”

 

“You know... when a girl likes you.”

 

I felt my face heat up, “No. Definitely not.”

 

“...it’d be okay, you know. If she did...”

 

“ _Definitely_ not,” I reiterated, glancing over at him. “Why would you be okay with that. Don’t you like her...like that?”

 

His face turned red, but not as much as it had been whenever the blond girl came up in the past. “I’d like to see her happy, but... I don’t think that happiness is me. Nor is she mine... it was just a silly crush...”

 

“...good...” I muttered, half hoping he didn’t hear me.

 

It didn’t appear that he had, or he was electing to ignore it.

 

“So what should we do for our project?”

 

“Hmm...” I suddenly remembered the history assignment. “Oh... Um... I dunno. I guess a good place to start might be to find some actual examples of historical events getting passed down...”

 

“Right... maybe we can check the library at the college!” He smiled as he ran across the street. I hurried to catch up.

 

“The college?”

 

“Yeah. It’s open to the public too, and Riku knows one of the student librarians, Belle. Apparently she’s pretty good at research, so she might know of a good place to start!”

 

“Hmm...” I nodded, “But then we have to present the concept in a unique way...”

 

“Yeah...” Repliku sighed and stared up at the sky. The sun was starting to dim and looking up, I saw dark clouds forming. The wind was starting to pick up and we hurried our pace.

 

“...We can start on the research this weekend, when the college library is open,” Repliku stated, “Oh! And then you can sleep over. Maybe something will inspire us when we’re playing video games. Ooh! Maybe a video game! It’d be fun at least!”

 

“I doubt that Leon’s going to accept a project that involves telling history through video games.” I wasn’t sure the man knew how to have fun.

 

“He did say a _unique_ presentation...” Repliku huffed, but grinned. “But is that a yes to the sleepover??”

 

I frowned. “I’m not sure. Grandfather is pretty... strict with what time I’m home and stuff...” I caught Repliku’s frown. “But I can ask.”

 

He smiled again, “Okay!”

 

Together, we walked down the street. The wind began to pick up, blowing around the dried leaves that littered the street. I glanced back up at the sky, noticing that the clouds were getting darker, and there was a moisture in the air.

 

“Gonna storm soon...” I stated needlessly as raindrops started to fall as soon as I opened my mouth.

 

We ran for Repliku’s apartment building as it was closer, stumbling inside just as it started to pour. Repliku laughed pointing at my hair which had been flattened by the water.

 

I frowned, shaking my head to disperse the water droplets and running a hand through it. “Shut up. I can’t help it.”

 

“Yeah, yeah...” he continued to chuckle though as we walked up the stairs.

 

Riku was already home when we got in, waving absently as he talked on his cell. We waved back briefly before Repliku took my hand and pulled me out to the balcony door. Opening it quickly, we found that the rain was falling just right that it wasn’t hitting the balcony at all, allowing us to observe the rain while staying dry.

 

The sound of rain was calming, and I closed my eyes. The stress from school, Namine’s oddness, my unexpected bursts of anger, and my issues with my Grandfather... all of that seemed to fade away as the rain fell.

 

Slowly, I became aware that my left hand was warmer than the rest of me, the chill from the wind starting to penetrate my sweatshirt. Opening my eyes, I glanced down.

 

Repliku’s hand covered my own from where it rested on the balcony railing. Repliku’s own eyes were closed, but he seemed to feel my stare and he opened them. He turned, removing his hand from where it covered mine. “Hmm.. What?”

 

I felt my cheeks heat up and I glanced away quickly, back out into the rain. “It’s nothing...” I trailed off. “So... you think of a new name yet?”

 

The silver haired boy had been silent on that subject ever since that day in the courtyard, but he had said that he was seriously considering changing it.

 

Repliku shrugged. “Not really... nothing seems to fit. Riku’s all for helping me, but he wants me to figure out the name on my own. His boyfriend has had a few suggestions... but...” he sighed and repeated his earlier statement, “Nothing fits.”

 

I nodded, glancing back up at the clouds. The rain was starting to let up, and the air was taking on a somewhat humid feel. The sky was still grey, though lighter than before, sunlight filtering in through the clouds.

 

I looked back over at Repliku, and my heart did a funny...thing. Almost like it dropped, but it was like a good feeling. The sunlight was hitting Repliku just right, his hair nearly glowing bright silver and his pale skin radiating. Again, he seemed to notice my stare and he turned to stare at me. His eyes were bright in the diffused light and my heart did that funny thing again.

 

He opened mouth, probably to ask again what I was staring at and I stuttered, saying the first thing that came to mind.

 

“Grey.”

 

“Huh?” he tilted his head.

 

 _Ba-dunk!_ Maybe I should see a doctor about this heart malfunction?

 

“I...you... you remind me of the sky after a storm. All calm and warm and... yeah... I don’t know. The sky’s all grey, but it’s not like the grey before a storm, but a calmer grey...”

 

“So?”

 

My cheeks felt hot and I struggled to maintain eye contact. “So... that could be your name... It’s completely different from Riku’s, but it still suits...you.”

 

Finally, I looked away, unable to make eye contact anymore. After I gasped as I felt arms encircle me and glancing back, I saw that Repliku was hugging me from behind. As I twisted around, he let go but he was grinning up at me. “Grey.... It’s still sort of stupid...” I opened my mouth to huff and tell him that it was his choice not to use it but he cut me off before I could. “But I like it.”

 

“Really?”

 

“Mmm hmm... It’s a nice color too... not white but not black... not light or dark but just... in the middle. Sounds perfect,” he grinned up at me and then held out his hand, “Hi, My name is Grey!”

 

Hesitantly, I smiled back and placed my hand in his. “Vanitas.”

 

Repl--Grey’s grin widened and he shook my hand once before letting go. The rain had stopped completely and we heard the sliding glass door open. Riku was still talking on his phone but he quickly covered up the speaker part.

 

“Kid? What do you want for dinner?”

 

Grey shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe just sandwiches?.... And...” He trailed off, looking back at me briefly. I nodded in what I hoped was encouragement. He took a breath and continued “My name’s Grey now.”

 

Riku blinked, but then let out a small smile. “Grey, huh? I like it.” He then went back inside, but left the door slightly ajar. As he moved back into the kitchen I overheard him on the phone, apparently reassuring the person on the line.

 

“Don’t worry, we’ll go together, Sora.”

 

I blinked, and it felt like the sunlight suddenly got in my eye. A sudden... image came to mind. A boy with spiky brown hair, like mine, and blue eyes. With the largest yellow shoes I had ever seen. In his hand was a large key... shaped sort of like the skeleton keys I’ve seen Grandfather use occasionally.

 

Within the same breath that the image clearly to mind, it faded into a dim memory. I was left blinking in confusion while the sunlight continued to burst forth from behind the clouds.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I have a lot of mixed feelings about the name change (even as I wrote it) because I really love the term "repliku" to refer to the Riku Replica if only because it's faster to type and say but a) I really see it as a "term" and not a "Name" and if Riku Replica does reappear in Kingdom Hearts III I hope that he is given some sort of name and isn't just referred to as "Riku's Replica" because poor boy needs a name and b) You do not know how many times I've accidentally typed Riku instead of Repliku. 
> 
> I just hope you all like the name. I thought it was fitting and far away from "Riku" enough that Repliku/Grey would be appreciative. 
> 
> Also you don't realize how little you use pre-calculus in everyday adulting life until you have to research it to a scene in your fic because you have no clue what you were taught at that age.
> 
> Also, Also: Clue for the title for this chapter: The song lyric is from a disney movie that was theatrically released in the US. (meaning it was not a "straight to VHS/DVD" sequel, but this clue does not rule out sequels)


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Xehanort is not a nice person and Vanitas does recount some episodes of child abuse, but they are not graphically described.

“How about something different before we head to my place today?” Grey asked as we exited the school. “Something to commemorate the last warm day before it starts getting disgustingly cold.”

I looked over at him as he took off the jacket he had worn to school today. Mine was already tied around my waist. It had been a few days since Grey’s new name was chosen, the weather was turning cooler, though today ended up mildly warm. Summer’s last stand before fall and winter firmly take hold. That would be interesting; I had never experienced snow before. “What did you have in mind?”

“There’s this diner a few blocks away. They make really good smoothies.”

I had never had a smoothie before, but I was willing to try new things. “All right.”

Grey led me a slightly different direction than how we walked home, turning left down the street instead of our usual right turn. A few blocks later, we ended up at a small diner, the sign above reading “Tiana’s.”

As soon as we entered a voice called from the register. “Hey Repliku, haven’t seen you in awhile...” The voice had an accent. I glanced over and saw a young man operating the cash register. His grin was so catching I found myself smiling back. 

“Been busy at school!” Grey called back, “And the name’s ‘Grey’ now.”

“Oh? New name?” another voice asked. The door to what must have been the kitchens opened and a woman stepped out. Her apron was covered in flour, some of it sticking to her curly hair. “Finally got rid of the terrible one?”

“Yep!” He pointed over to me, “He’s the one who came up with it. Tiana, Naveen, this is Vanitas. He just moved here at the start of the school year. “ He then pointed them out in turn. “Tiana owns this place and does most the cooking. Naveen just runs the cash register.”

“And I mince!” Naveen cried, “I am a world class mincer...”

Tiana chuckled and kissed his cheek. “Of course you are.” 

Grey grinned at their interaction and even I couldn’t help but let out a chuckle. 

Tiana turned back to us, “So boys, what will it be?”

“Wanted to try a strawberry smoothie.” 

Tiana laughed. “Sure! Naveen, can you try your mincing skills on some strawberries?”

“Certainly!”

Within a few minutes Grey and I walked out, smoothies in hand. We argued a little over who would pay, but in the end, Grey had insisted that it was his treat for helping him find his new name. 

Together, we began to make our way back to Grey’s apartment building, talking about school and our ideas for the history project.

“Riku said he can drive us to the college library this weekend. He already asked Belle about our project and she put a few books on hold for us to look through.” 

“Great... but what about the actual project part?” I asked. 

“Dunno,” Grey let out a sigh. “Maybe the research will help us come up with something.

Grinning, I took another sip of my smoothie. 

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of gold hair, messy in a way that was so familiar. Startled I turned towards it. 

Running down the sidewalk on the other side of the street was a blonde haired kid, wearing cargo pants and some sort of white zip up shirt. Startled, my smoothie dropped out of my hand. 

_Ven?_

Distantly, I heard Grey call my name as I raced across the street, dodging cars and other pedestrians. 

“Ven!” I called. 

The boy didn’t turn around. 

I frowned, and ran faster finally catching up with him and tackling him to the ground, mostly on accident. “Ven! Where have you been? What--” I cut myself off as I got a closer look at the boy I had tackled. 

Though the blonde hair was cut the exact same as Ven, and the outfit was so similar to what Ven usually wore, this boy’s eyes were a darker shade of blue and he didn’t have the light freckles that dotted Ven’s face. 

“You’re not Ven,” I stated, a wave of frustration rushing through me. _Why... why couldn’t I find him.._

 _Not that you’ve been looking that hard,_ a voice in my head reminded me. 

The blond frowned at my statement. “Uh... no...”

My chest feels like someone is squeezing it, and my vision starts to get blurry at the corners. Hurriedly, I brush away the tears, but the boy on the ground must have seen them anyway for he offers up a slightly confused apology. 

“Sorry?”

“Hey Roxas! Who...” The voice trails off and I look up. Green eyes and red hair as bright as a freaking fire truck stared down at me. “Huh... I thought you only had the one brother, Roxy.”

The blond - Roxy? - frowned, “Don’t call me that, asshole. And you know I only have the one brother.”

“Well... could’ve fooled me. He looks just like..”

“Sorry...” I muttered, cutting off what the redhead was going to say. “You just... I thought you were someone else.”

“Yeah...” the blond pulled himself off the ground. 

“Lea! Roxas!” another voice called from further down the street. Up ahead, a dark haired girl I recognized from my economics class was smiling and waving. “C’mon! We’re going to miss the sale!”

“We’re coming!” The redhead called back. “The ice cream isn’t going to stay long if Xion gets there first, Roxas.” He hurried to catch up with the girl.

“Yeah,” Roxas nodded. Then he turned back to me. I managed to get myself off the ground and had finally brushed away the lingering tears. “I hope you find whoever it is your looking for!” He said to me as he ran off. 

“Vani?” Grey’s voice came from behind. “Are you okay?”

I turned around. Grey was holding his drink and the rest of mine, though it had clearly spilled out across the sidewalk when I caught sight of who I thought was Ven. “Yeah...” my voice was raspy, and my throat was tight. The blurriness returned to my eyesight and I tried to rub at them, but Grey grabbed my hand, throwing both cups away in a nearby trash can. 

“You don’t look okay.”

“I’m fine...” The words were barely audible, even to my own ears, and my cheeks burned. 

I thought I could see Ven again. For one moment, I thought I found my brother. But then it came crashing down as firmly as I had tackled Roxas to the ground. Roxas was not my brother. He was someone else’s brother.

“C’mon...” 

I couldn’t stop the tears running down my cheeks and I kept my head down, watching the sidewalks and streets pass by. Grey held my hand the whole time, guiding me around turns and thru crosswalks. 

It wasn’t until we were up the steps and I recognized the carpet of Grey’s apartment building that I realized he had brought me back to his place. Up the stairs and through the door of 313, I found myself sitting on the edge of Grey and Riku’s threadbare couch. 

“Here. Lay down if you need to,” Grey said softly as he helped me take the backpack off. 

I nodded and laid down as soon as the heavy burden was lifted from my back. My heart still felt heavy. I buried my face in one of the pillows, the smell sending a sense of comfort through me. I could hear voices talking, but their words didn’t reach my muddled head. 

If I stayed there for minutes or hours, I couldn’t tell, but a sharp metallic sound woke me from my stupor and I blinked my eyes open. Eventually, a bowl with a spoon sticking out of it came into focus. I blinked again and sat up, staring up at the person offering the bowl. 

Riku smiled gently at me, “Grey thought you would like some ice cream.”

I looked over to the kitchen where Grey was scooping out enough ice cream for two more bowls. “Thank you... but I’m not...”

“Just try it, okay? He’ll probably eat it if you don’t like it.”

I sighed and nodded, taking the bowl. The ice cream inside was colored light blue. “What flavor is it?”

“Sea Salt!” Grey stated, taking a seat next to me and passing another bowl to Riku. Riku sat in the armchair, already digging into his ice cream. 

My nose wrinkled. “Salty Ice cream?” That sounds disgusting. 

Grey let out a quiet chuckle. “It’s good, I promise. It’s Sora’s favorite and he got some for me when I first moved here.”

“Right...” Tentatively, I brought a small spoonful to my mouth. Rather than an intense salty flavor that I expected, there was a moment of some saltiness, followed by a burst of sweetness. Intrigued, I grabbed a larger spoonful. 

We ate in a comfortable silence, broken only by the soft sounds of the metal spoon hitting the porcelain bowls. 

Finally, Riku placed his bowl on the coffee table, “So, Vanitas, do you want to talk about it?”

I frowned, staring at my nearly empty bowl. “No... not really.”

“Okay,” Riku stated. “I won’t make you, but I will say that it might help.”

I took another bite of ice cream, mulling the thought over, then I let out a sigh. “The boy I saw today... the one with blonde hair. He... he looked nearly identical to my brother.”

“The one that ran away?” Grey prodded.

I sat my bowl on the coffee table and drew my left knee to my chest, setting my chin a top it. “Yeah.”

“When did your brother run away?” Riku asked. 

“Almost four years ago.” My shoulders moved in a half shrug. “I hadn’t heard anything since then. Except for a postcard I got in the mail at our old house about 8 months ago. It was from Radiant Garden.”

“What’s your brother’s name?” Riku asked, “He was your older brother? He might be at one of the colleges around here.” 

“His name is Ventus... I used to call him Ven.” I felt my lips quirk up in a small smile, still staring at the empty bowl in front of me, “He’d call me Van...” 

“Do you know a Ven?” Grey asked and I looked up at the older silver haired brother. Riku seemed to think about it for a long moment, but then shook his head. 

“No...Not at the university. Sora might though. He’s friends with more people,” he turned to me, “Did your brother say anything when he was planning on running away?”

Frowning, I tried to think back. “There was a letter I think. From a cousin,” my brow furrowed as the picture of Ven holding the letter came to mind. “It was a child’s handwriting... so I think the cousin was around Ven’s age. The plan was Ven was going to go find him. Find out why Dad’s family didn’t take us in.” 

_“Why can’t I go with you?”_

_“Because... you’re still too young for this.” Ven tossed tossed another pair of socks into his backpack._

_“And you’re not?”_

_“I just... I just mean that if I go out on my own... I can just say that I’m visiting relatives. It’s close enough to the truth. But if you’re with me... people would get suspicious.” After a moment of thinking, he headed for the desk we shared and pulled out three of the graveyard keychains he had found. One that looked like a tornado he had claimed for himself, the others a water droplet and a stone shard; the three keychains we had just found yesterday. The tornado he attached to his backpack while the other two went into his pocket._

_I knew I was pouting. “That’s not fair... you’re not that much older!”_

_Zipping up his backpack, Ven grinned at me, ruffling my hair. “Old enough...” then he passed me a letter he had hidden in the bottom of his desk drawer, where Grandfather wouldn’t find it. “Here. I’m going to try to find Dad’s family... see the address?”_

_“Destiny Islands,” I read out the words, though they held no meaning._

_“That’s right. Mom took me there right after... well... right after Dad passed, but before you were born. That’s where I met our cousin,” Ven took the letter back and tucking it in his front pocket._

“Destiny Islands? That’s where we used to live!” Grey’s voice jarred me out of the memory. I glanced over and saw his eyes shining, visibly excited by this revelation. “Maybe it’s someone we know!”

“Do you remember the cousin’s name?” Riku asked, his hands pressed close together in thought. 

Frowning, I shook my head. “No... A lot about the day he left is sort of... fuzzy. When Grandfather found out that Ven had left... he was angry. Very angry. Tried forcing me to tell him where Ven had went, but when I wouldn’t say, he sort of... shoved me into the wall. My head hit a stud or something. The memory of the letter is clear, but the name’s.... blurred.” I had woken up in bed much later with a pounding headache and Grandfather asking for dinner, like nothing had ever happened. 

Grey laid a hand on my shoulder, “That sucks.”

“Yeah.”

Riku was giving me an unreadable look. “Does your Grandfather do that often? Push you into walls?”

I huffed, “Not since I managed to throw him to the mat in martial arts training." And... as long as I behaved. Absently I rubbed my arm where a bruise still lingered and continued, "Not that he couldn’t still kick my ass if he really wanted to... I just think he doesn’t want to lose his cook.” 

Riku sighed, “If you want to--”

“It’s fine...” I cut him off, shrugging. “It’s... It’s sort of an understanding... besides, I’ve only got a few more years. I can deal with it till I turn 18.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” Grey huffed, leaning against me. 

“Yeah...” I muttered, but leaned back into him. 

We stayed like that for a moment or two before an alarm startled us. Riku quickly reached into his back pocket and smile sheepishly. “Sorry... It’s just my med alarm.” He turned off the alarm and got up heading for the kitchen. He fished out a few medicine bottles from the cabinet and filled a glass with water. 

“Riku still forgets to take his pills sometimes,” Grey whispered. “His doctor insisted that he set an alarm so he would remember.”

“Makes sense...” I murmured back. The alarm had startled me completely out of my thoughts and I quickly checked the clock for the time. “I have to leave soon to make dinner.” The results from not making dinner a few nights ago had been... unpleasant. Again, I rubbed at the bruise on my arm. Who knew door knobs could lead such lasting impressions?

“Why don’t you just have dinner with us?” Riku asked as he came back in. “We can make extra for you to take home and your Grandfather will never know.” 

I hesitated for only a moment before agreeing. I didn’t really want to be alone right now. 

Grey and Riku were having spaghetti for dinner, so there really wasn’t much prep work as Riku sat the pot to boil and the jarred sauce to simmer, so Grey invited me back to his room to start on homework until dinner was ready. At least, we told Riku we would get started on homework, but we mostly sat on Grey’s bed and listened to some of his music. 

After dinner, Riku packaged some up in a to-go container. I quickly ran home with it, reheating it in the microwave and plating it just as Grandfather came in the door. 

“Ahh... dinner for one tonight?” Grandfather asked as he took a seat. I felt his eyes boring into me, and that tendril of anger and hate that had been growing stronger over the past weeks began to writhe. Staying as far away from Grandfather as possible seemed to cool it, so I started towards the stairs instead.

“Yeah... I already ate my portion. Wanted to get back to homework...” I trailed off and hesitated by the kitchen door but Grandfather waved me off. 

“It’s good to know you are so committed to your studies,” he stated. I had just taken a few steps towards the stairs when his voice called back. “I thought we were out of pasta, Vanitas.”

I hesitated, probably for a moment too long. “Found some, back of the cupboard.” Then I hurried up the stairs and slammed the door shut.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No Vanitas, getting pushed into walls and doors is not normal nor should you tolerate it. But... considering that Vanitas is just now learning about what a 'normal' family relationship looks like, he thinks that Xehanort's abuse of him is normal, or at least, not something that should be talked about, so he tends to gloss over it. 
> 
> I would include a hotline to call if you or someone you know is suffering from child abuse, but I've heard both good and bad things about the outcomes of the children who use such hotlines. If you know of better references to add, please direct me to them so I can add them here?
> 
> In other news, is anyone else hoping for a Princess and the Frog reference in KH3?


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this chapter (and the next one) is a bit of a monster... but... I didn't want to split it up. :D So you guys just get a huge update. 
> 
> I am debating splitting up chapter 9, but I want ya'll's input. Chapter 8 is another monster and probably won't be uploaded till a week from today. Then either I can a) wait to post the full chapter 9 (which is another monster) till after I come back from a trip or b) split the chapter into two parts and post 1/2 before I go on the trip, and the second half after I come back. There is a good section to split the chapter, but it would mean I'd leave ya'll on a slightly big cliffhanger.

“So your grandfather’s okay with the sleepover?” 

 

It was so strange having Grey in the house after exclusively hanging out with him at his apartment. I looked  over to where he was glancing into the living room. 

 

“No TV?”

 

“Grandfather doesn’t like watching it. I have a little one in my room, but...”

 

“Weird,” Grey huffed and instead began to head towards the kitchen. 

 

“And yeah, he’s okay with the sleepover. He’s not going to be here tonight anyway. He’s off on some sort of work trip for the weekend.” Which also means that I didn’t necessarily ask him. What he doesn’t know, won’t hurt him. I swung an arm around Grey’s shoulders and steered him towards the stairs to the bedroom. “That said, he’s generally not okay with people snooping around, so let’s just get my stuff and go.”

 

“Okay,” Grey followed me upstairs and into my room. 

 

I swung my backpack down on the bed and quickly unzipped it, pulling out anything I wouldn’t need over the weekend. 

 

“Wow... this is...”

 

“A mess, I know...” I grumbled, quickly pulling an extra T-shirt from the dresser. I glanced back to where Grey’s attention was fully captivated by the items on the dresser before I pulled out a pair of boxers as well and bundled them up in the shirt. I slammed the dresser drawer closed and stuffed the clothing into my backpack. 

 

“Hey! Is this your mom?” Grey asked excitedly. 

 

Startled, I turned to see what he was looking at. 

 

It was then that I noticed the items on the desk had been shifted around. It was subtle, just an absence of dust where something had been moved, but the photo of my parents was laying right on top. 

 

Exactly where I would spot it. 

 

Usually the photo of my parents, a small, 4x6 snap shot of them at some long ago college party, was safely hidden in between the pages of an old notebook. I hadn’t taken it out to look at since my last birthday. Which meant.... 

 

I felt another spike of anger run through me, but unlike the hot spikes of fury and resentment I had been feeling lately whenever Grandfather looked at me, this anger felt like it was all my own. It pooled in the bottom of my gut and I felt my whole body heat up. 

 

Grandfather had been going through my stuff. 

 

“She’s so pretty!” Grey exclaimed, not noticing my anger and I tried to calm it. I wasn’t angry with Grey. He held the picture closer to the light and grinned, “You look a lot like her, with the hair and eye color. I guess the other guy is your dad right?” 

 

“Uh... yeah. Ven used to say that he and I got our hair from his side of the family,” I ran a hand through the spikes, “The messiness and all...”

 

“Hehe, yeah, I can see that.” He turned and then seemed to notice my flushed face, “Vani, are you--”

 

“I’m fine!” I hurried to reassure, but I pulled the picture gently out of his grasp and instead returned it to the notebook it usually resided in. This time though, I moved the notebook to my backpack. I can’t trust it to be out of my sight now. 

 

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to be nosy,” Grey pulled his hands back to his side and kept his eyes trained on the floor instead. 

 

I sighed and shoved the notebook in my backpack. “It’s not you. Really... it’s just... I haven’t looked at this picture in a long time. Haven't even taken it out of its hiding spot since we’ve moved here.”

 

“Hiding spot... then...” His eyes widened when he realized what I was implying, “He goes through your stuff?!” 

 

I was shocked to hear the anger in his tone. Was he angry on my behalf? “Yeah, I guess. He didn’t used to.... But I’m just thankful that he didn’t throw it out.” If nothing else, the picture had been a message. That I couldn’t hide anything from him. 

 

Suddenly I felt my stomach fill with dread and I hurried back to the dresser, quickly emptying out one of the drawers. 

 

Grey watched my actions with concern, “Vanitas, that’s.... That’s seriously not cool.”

 

“You think I don’t know that?!” I replied, failing to keep both the panic and the anger out of my voice. Once the drawer was empty, I reached inside towards the back, pulling at a latch and lifting the false bottom out. 

 

The relief that overcame me nearly had me collapsing. They were still there. 

 

“What are those?” Grey asked, peering over my shoulder. 

 

I began to collect the keychains. I’d have to change my hiding spot for them. He hadn’t found them this time, but.... There’s no telling when he’d start snooping next. I began to put them in a side pocket of my backpack. Maybe i could keep them at school till... well..it’d be a spot to hide them till summer. 

 

Belatedly, I realized that I never answered Grey’s question. “They’re keychains. Ven and I used to find them in this old graveyard a home.”

 

“Ew?”

 

“Don’t be gross, we didn’t take them from the graves. The graveyard itself was ancient, but these keychains were usually just lying on the pathways or something. If they were any bigger, we would have tripped over them everytime Ven and I went there to walk around. They’re... they’re one of the few items I’ve managed to hide from Grandfather. They may not look like much, but they tie me and Ven together. He took a few with him when he left.”

 

“You don’t even have a photo of him?” Grey helped grab the last of the keychains, handing them over as I stuffed them into the backpack. 

 

“No... Grandfather wasn’t one to take pictures. He threw out all of our parents wedding photos a long time ago. Along with Mom’s favorite CD... Ven’s teddy bear... Dad’s baseball cap,” I let out a long sigh. “Grandfather said that sentiment would just... tie me down...”

 

“That’s stupid...” Grey sounded furious. Startled, I looked up and saw his own cheeks heating up with anger. Usually I only saw that expression when directed towards bullies. “You can’t just... erase the past by burying or trashing it. It’s still a part of you. You deserve to have things that make you happy!”

 

I felt my face redden again, only this time it was due to an emotion other than anger. I turned and quickly zipped the backpack back up. “Yeah...well... that’s why I only keep things I can hide from him.” I reached into my pocket and pulled out my own personal keychain, the intertwined gears. Dangling from the lobster clasp was Mom’s ring. “I keep this one on me at all times.”

 

“Cool!” He reached out hesitantly and I let him hold it. I turned it till the light caught the weird eye gem in the center. Then the diamond from Mom’s ring caught the light and it sparkled. Grey’s face broke out in a grin, “It looks like a wedding ring. Was this your mom’s?”

 

“Yeah... that’s kind of the reason the keychain doesn’t leave my side,” I shared his grin and fingered the small band of gold and diamonds. I had added it to the keychain just after moving to the new house, not wanting to leave it at home for hours on end. “Ven has Dad’s. But... this is the only thing of her’s that I have left.” 

 

Grey looked at the keychain one last time before passing it back. His eyes looked back towards where the other items on the desk had been shifted. “Is that all that he messed with? You can always hide things at my place if you need to.”

 

I put the keychain back in my pocket and shook my head, “Nah. Like I said most other things have been thrown out. The only other thing really is the blanket on the bed. But Grandfather leaves that alone cause it’s ‘useful’ I think.”

 

Grey’s eyes narrowed at the green threadbare fabric of the blanket, but he nodded. “Okay then...” He turned back to me with a grin, “Let’s finish up here and head back, kay? Riku said we could play video games before dinner! He’s ordering pizza since Sora’s coming back tonight!”

 

“I’ll get the meet the elusive boyfriend?” I grinned, understanding the sudden change in topic. I quickly zipped up the backpack and double checked before I left anything else in the room. 

 

“It’s strange, not having Sora here these last few weeks, since him and Riku have been attached at the hip for as long as I can remember.” Grey headed out the door and down the stairs. I followed close behind, locking the door behind me as we exited the house. 

 

There was a sharp cough from over the fence line and I quickly glanced up to see a pair of beady eyes glaring down at me. 

 

“Good Evening, Miss Gothel...” I called out. 

 

“Running away are we? You young people have no idea how good you have it. Those youthful days won’t last forever!” The voice was rough and old, but almost lyrical. I had never completely seen the woman’s face, as she always wore large brimmed hats and hid behind her 8 foot tall fence, but I believed that she may have once been an actress or a singer. I can only presume that she hadn’t aged well and was now taking out her frustrations with the system through verbal vitriol, mainly directed at anyone under the age of 20. 

 

“Just going to do homework, Miss Gothel,” I responded, grabbing Grey’s hand and dragging him away. Even as we walked, I heard her spewing vicious words and comments that were best left ignored. 

 

“She’s.... Interesting...”

 

“It’s okay. You can say nightmare,” I rolled my eyes, “When we first moved in, she and Grandfather got along way too well, yelling at each other through that 8 foot fence. I wouldn’t be surprised of Grandfather picked up his new snooping habit from her.”

 

“Ugh...” Grey stuck out his tongue and I couldn’t help but snort in laughter. Belatedly, I realized that I had not yet let go of his hand. 

 

I dropped it, and Grey seemed a little disappointed at that, a small frown crossing his lips. It happened so quickly though, that I decided that it must have been my imagination. 

 

Riku had waited to place the order for pizza till we got back, then said we could play video games in the living room till the pizza arrived. 

 

By the time dinner arrived, I had managed to beat Grey at nearly all of the levels of the new racing game Riku had just bought and the younger silver haired boy was quite upset about it, though he always insisted on a rematch. He became a master at one level though, quickly finding all of the glitches and shortcuts long before I did. 

 

“Sora’s not gonna be here for another hour or so,” Riku called from his room. “So go ahead and eat.”

 

“Kay!” 

 

We ate quickly, finishing up one of the large pizzas all on our own. Afterwards, Grey groaned and held his stomach.

 

“Ugh.. I don’t think I can sit and play video games anymore...I might burst...”

 

“Wanna go for a walk then?” I offered, taking his plate and mine to the sink and rinsing them off. 

 

“Yeah!” Grey ran over to the couch to pull his shoes on. “Riku! Vani and I are going to go take a walk to the park and back.”

 

“Okay!” Riku’s reply was distant, as if he only half heard Grey’s request. Grey chuckled and met me by the door, grabbing his keys. 

 

Our footsteps sounded like a roll of thunder as we raced down the steps and out the door. The sky was darkening, and the street lamps were starting to come on. In the distance I could hear dogs barking and children screaming in excitement. 

 

“C’mon!” Grey hurried down the apartment steps and I raced after him. We ran more than walked to the park, pretty much touching the swings at the same time. Grey was laughing, and even I could feel the smile on my face.

 

We each took a seat and started swinging, the playground equipment practically shaking with how high we were going. Finally, Grey leapt off the swing, sailing through the air and landing gracefully on his feet. He turned around and sent me a smirk as if saying ‘think you can do better?’

 

Not wanting to be out done, I waiting for the perfect height, leaping off the seat. My landing was a little rougher but I managed to recover with a summersault and got back on my feet in one fluid motion. Turning, I found that with my slightly botched landing, I was now a few feet ahead of Grey and sent him my own smirk. 

 

He huffed, “Your recovery doesn't count.”

 

“Yeah it does!” 

 

“No. No it does not!” He stuck his tongue out and I stuck out my own in reply. 

 

“You’re just jealous cause I landed farther.”

 

“I told you it doesn’t count!” In a quick movement, he tackled me to the ground and we wrestled in the grass for a bit, mostly shoving each other into the dirt. Finally, Grey managed to pin me to the ground, straddling my stomach and pinning my wrists above my head. 

 

I struggled for a moment before relaxing, signaling that I was giving up. He smirked, releasing my wrists though he remained seated on my chest. “Told you it doesn't count.”

 

“Ugh... Fine... But get off, you’re heavy!” Seeing him above me like...that... was doing funny things to my heart. When he smirked, I felt an even weirder sensation in my pants and I was determined not to think of that. 

 

Not noticing my plight, Grey chuckled and rolled off, laying next to me in the grass. 

 

We stared in silence up at the sky where the glow from the city lights caused the night sky to turn a faint orange color, blocking out all light from the stars. I sighed. 

 

“Thinking about the stars again?” Grey asked. 

 

“Yeah...”

 

“I guess... that might be one thing darkness is good for... Makes it easier to see the stars.”

 

I chuckled. “That is stupidly philosophical.”

 

“You graduated on to big words now, huh?”

 

I raised my hand and lightly slapped his arm. “Shut up...”

 

He slapped my hand in return. We laid there together for a moment more before Grey suddenly shot up. 

 

“Oh yeah! I almost forgot!” 

 

He turned and grabbed both of my hands, pulling me up. “Woah, what?” I exclaimed as I hurried to my feet. 

 

“C’mon...I gotta show you something!” He kept one hand entangled in mine, practically dragging me back to his apartment. On his face was the biggest smile I had ever seen, his whole being practically glowing in the light of the street lamps. My heart felt like it was being squeezed again, but this time, it felt... good. 

 

As we ran together, I couldn’t help but notice how warm Grey’s hand was, and how well it fit in mine. It wasn’t the first time we held hands, but this felt... different. For the second time today, I felt my cheeks heat up with something other than exertion or anger and by the time we reached his apartment the heat in my cheeks and my hand were causing my stomach to feel like something was alive in it, fluttering around. I pulled my hand away, losing the warmth from Grey’s hand, but the fluttering in my stomach remained. 

 

Again, his smile faltered when I pulled my hand away, but he opened the door anyway, ushering me up the steps and back into his apartment. 

 

We both heard voices coming from Riku’s room, sounding as if someone was in there with the older boy. 

 

“Oh... Sora must have arrived,” Grey muttered before starting to shove me towards his room. “But that doesn't matter right now. Go, go, go!”

 

Despite the nervous uneasy fluttering in my stomach, I chuckled softly, “Okay, okay I’m going!”

 

As soon as we entered, Grey shut the door, and then ran to his window, pulling the curtains shut and plunging the room in complete darkness. 

 

“I have seen your room before, but if you’re trying to hide the mess, you’re failing.” I started feeling my way towards the bed and taking a seat. 

 

“Shut up...” He trailed off as I heard him rummaging around in his closet, cursing as he must have hit his foot on something. “Ah ha!”

 

Suddenly a bright light filled the room and I blinked against it. 

 

“Sorry!”

 

The light then moved so it was shining in a corner instead of right in my eyes. I watched as Grey fumbled with something else in his hands before he sat the light source down on the floor and placed some sort of ball on top of it. 

 

The light instantly dimmed, filtering through the cover as tiny pinpricks of light. I looked around the room, the pinpricks starting to feel familiar before I spotted a constellation I knew by heart. A triangle of 3 dots of light, each with either a red, blue or greenish glow, replicated from the plastic lampshade with a smear of colored paint. 

 

“It’s the stars!” I exclaimed, unable to keep the excitement from my voice. After so long of not being able to see the stars from my bedroom window, this felt like a breath of air I didn’t know I needed. 

 

“Yep! Riku got it for me for my birthday last winter. I thought of it the last time you mentioned not being able to see the stars, but I didn’t find it again till about a week ago. I thought you’d like it.” He pulled my arm till I was seated next to him on the floor. “The view’s better from down here.” 

 

I grinned and laid back instead, feeling more than seeing as Grey laid down next to me. 

 

“When we were younger,” I started, “Ven and I would sneak out onto the roof and watch the stars till nearly daybreak. He’d tell me all the old stories of the constellations.”

 

Grey reached over and gave my hand a small squeeze. “That’s a nice memory.” 

 

I smiled and nodded before taking the hand that had squeezed mine and lifting it, pointing out a small cluster of stars I had noticed earlier, “That greenish one is the one I picked out as the star Ven and I would wish on.” 

 

Grey turned to look at me, and I saw him give a grin out of the corner of my eye. Then he turned back to look at the stars, moving my hand so it pointed at a odd shaped cluster a little to the right of my green star. 

 

“That one is Riku’s favorite. It’s called the Mouse’s ears.”

 

“Excuse me?” I frowned, trying to see the connection between the cluster of stars, and a mouse. 

 

Grey laughed, “That’s what I thought too, but here.” He guided our hands so we outlined one large circle, with two smaller ones on top. “See... It’s a head with two ears.”

 

“That’s stupid,” I huffed. “No mouse has ears that big in proportion to his head.”

 

Grey chuckled again. “Yeah... Riku likes it though. He says it gives him guidance when he needs it.”

 

“Which one is your favorite?”

 

He sighed and let our hands dropped, though they remained connected. “I don’t really have one. I wasn’t very interested in it when I was younger, and now I don’t know much about any of them.” He turned to look at me and I met his gaze. “You can teach me though, right?”

 

I shrugged. “I guess... but I can’t remember some of the stories.”

 

“That’s okay... hm...” He let go of my hand, and my fingers immediately felt cold, though the room was a comfortable temperature. Turning away, he rolled to sit up, but motioned to me to remain lying down. 

 

There was a moment of scuffling before a light click and a soft sound of a man speaking ricocheted around the room. Looking over, I saw Grey fiddling with the controls on a small CD player. He pushed a few buttons, the man’s voice skipping until Grey seemed satisfied with his selection. He placed the CD player near the lamp and resumed his position next to me. 

 

“The projector came with a CD explaining about stars... Thought it might help jog your memory.” 

 

“Right...” 

 

_ The Constellation, Eraqus, found to the east of the Wishing Star, is comprised of six stars, forming the shape of a capital E. The brightest star in this constellation is also named Eraqus. _ The man’s voice was soft and relaxing, but audible, its tone making the information interesting. 

 

Grey again took my hand and pointed out the constellation. The E shape was clear in the replica of the night sky, though I don’t remember it being quite as clear in reality. 

 

_ Eraqus was a great warrior, and trained many new heroes before being struck down by one of his students, who had been manipulated by Eraqus’ former friend. It is said that at that time, the brightest star in this constellation went dark for long period. Whatever calamity had befallen the star must have cleared, for now we can see it today.  _

 

I closed my eyes, letting the stories wash over me, almost feeling like I was eight years old again and Ven was telling me about the stars.

 

_ Three of the pupils Eraqus trained can also be remembered in the night sky. One of the most colorful constellations, this cluster of stars is remembered as the Wayfinder. These three stars give off unusual glows of Red, Green, and Blue, respectively.   _

 

_ Though the names of the pupils these stars represent have been lost to history, they are known today as the Warrior, represented by the red star, the Sorceress, represented by blue, and the  _ _  
_ _ Apprentice, represented by the green. Though they have different titles, the ancient stories describe all three of these pupils as great warriors with their own strengths. _

 

_ These three warriors met with the darkness and their master’s former friend on a desert plain, barren except for the remains of the weapons of warriors who came before them. The red star warrior had come to take revenge on the man who had manipulated him into striking down his master. The green star apprentice had come to face the dark master’s own apprentice, who was said to have been created from the darkness green star apprentice’s heart.  _

 

My eyes shot open, the words striking a chord deep within me. The creation of a being from darkness in a person’s heart. Instantly, a spike of pain shot from my head into my chest and I let out a soft grunt of surprise. I saw Grey turn to look at me, puzzled.  

 

_ This dark apprentice is said to have control over emotion itself, though some legends say that these emotions came out as terrible monsters, while others say that he had the ability to bring out the dark feelings in other’s hearts.  _

 

My head throbbed, waves of pain echoing through me as it felt like something was trying to break free; a door being forced open when the key could not be found. My hands grew sweaty and clammy. I pulled out of Grey’s grip and curled up into myself. Pain radiated from both my head and my heart and images began to slip through the cracks in the door. Ventus, flanked by a tall boy with brown hair and a girl with blue. 

 

On the CD the man kept talking, and though part of me wanted to beg Grey to turn it off, the other part of me, the stronger part, needed to know how this story ended. 

 

_ “The red star warrior’s heart was consumed by darkness, his star dimming to what we see today. In an effort to save her friend, the blue star Sorceress fell into a dark realm, also dimming her star.  _

 

_ As for the green apprentice, his fate is somewhat of a mystery. He battled the dark apprentice, born from the darkness in his own heart, knowing that every strike brought him closer and closer to destroying himself.  _

 

More images slipped through. Fighting Ven on a field of stained glass, breaking the glass and clashing with him directly, our blades... keyblades?... spinning. 

 

_ Finally, the apprentice managed to defeat his dark counterpart, the darkness returning to his own heart, making it whole again. But the victory came at a heavy cost. Some stories say that the apprenticed died as soon as his dark half became absorbed. Other say that the darkness caused his own body to rebell... and still others say that the apprentice fell into a deep sleep, never to awaken.  _

 

Instantly, a wave of sadness, anger and fear washed over me, along with the thought:

 

_ I don’t want to die! _

 

The door in my heart burst open the images and emotions swarming over me. My stomach lurched, and I hurriedly pushed a very concerned Grey away, racing towards the bathroom where I proceeded to hug the toilet and empty the contents of my stomach. 

 

Even as I heaved, the memories came. Along with every single emotion I had felt. Fear, intense loneliness, and anger. So much anger. 

 

I remembered Ven. Not as he was four years ago, but a little older and a lot quieter. Saying that his friends were his power. I hated him. I missed him. He was my enemy, but also my brother. It wasn’t fair! He didn’t have to feel this pain, this anger! He felt nothing at all.  

 

I wanted to destroy him. 

 

Memories flashed. 

 

_ Myself in front of mirror, looking at my true reflection for the first time. Dark messy hair, and bright blue... no... bright gold eyes. I hated my existence. So lonely and cut off from the one I missed most of all.  _

 

_ I punched the mirror, shattering my reflection into thousands of pieces. Good. I wouldn’t have to look at myself then. I glanced back at the mask I had thrown on the bed the Master gave me.  _

 

_ At least I would never have to look at myself.   _

 

_ In the fragments of the mirror, I saw a dark monster appeared behind me, right out of my shadow. It twitched and writhed, and after a moment, another monster joined it, both of them scratching at the ground as if they wished to run away. In irritation I cut through both of them with my blade, a sharp pain coursing through me as I did. As I became irritated with the pain, another monster spawned.  _

 

_ And so began the never ending cycle.  _

 

Flashes of different worlds passed by after that. Spreading the monsters to lure Ventus away from his protectors. I hated him so much. 

 

Hate... or jealousy?

 

The question made me angrier. Angry at Ventus for regaining his heart, while I continued to feel so empty. Angry at his friends for loving him even when he made mistakes. Angry at the old man who simultaneously praised me and scolded me, telling me that I would have to become stronger... to let the darkness become stronger, before I could take on Ventus. 

 

I was pure darkness. Wasn’t I already strong enough?

 

Finally, as I finished heaving what was left in my stomach into the porcelain bowl, the images slowed to a trickle, the memories still filtering in, but the accompanying emotions felt a little more distant and not nearly as intense. 

 

I dry heaved a few more times, and I felt hot tears leaking from my eyes, my sweaty hands gripping the toilet bowl as if it was the only thing in this world keeping me grounded. A sob broke through my throat, the noise making my vocal cords hurt. 

 

A knock came from behind me and I froze, realizing that I had never shut it. With the new memories that now filled my head, and the wave of emotions that now filtered through me, I didn’t want Grey to see me like this. Broken and confused and now filled with a diffused anger that I wasn’t sure how to deal with it all. 

 

“Hey...”

 

The voice was deeper than Grey’s and the hand that held out a small paper towel dampened with water was larger than the hand that had held mine just mere minutes... hours?... ago. 

 

Looking up, I saw Riku standing over me, his eyes filled with concern. Another image flashed over that: Riku standing over me, an expression on his face full of fury and he raised his blade to strike me down. I gasped looking away from those aqua eyes and instead stared at the offered towel in confusion. 

 

The older boy let out a soft sigh and knelt down to my level, he forced me to let go of the toilet bowl, assuring me that sitting against the wall would make me feel better. I was nervous letting go of the white porcelain, still feeling that if I did, the emotions and the memories would just carry me away into oblivion. 

 

Gently, Riku wiped away the remaining vomit from my chin. Then turning, he threw the napkin in the bin, and grabbed a washcloth. Dampening the cloth in the sink, he turned back to me and started to clean my tears away, though they fell as fast as he tried to remove them. 

 

“It’s okay...” he murmured. “Shh...”

 

To my complete embarrassment, the sobs continued. In my effort to control them, I began to hiccup. Instead, I took the cloth from Riku’s hand and tried to dry the tears myself. 

 

Slowly, through Riku’s encouragement to take deeper breaths and the comforting hand on my back, my sobs and hiccups softened, and it became easier to breathe. 

 

As I calmed, the images settled into slots, and now my head was full of two sets of memories: one of Vanitas, Vani, Van... Grey’s best friend and Ven’s little brother... and one of Vanitas, the dark apprentice, whose own emotions spawned dark monsters, the one who tried to destroy the apprentice, Ven. 

 

Both memories felt true. I had lived this life, growing up with Ven as my true brother. Living with Grandfather... Xehanort... and moving here to Radiant Garden. Becoming friends with Repliku and giving him his new name, Grey. 

 

But the other set of memories felt just as true, just as real. 

 

_ Where did that leave me? _

 

“They’re a little overwhelming at first,” Riku murmured as my thoughts fluttered between the two sets of memories, trying to make sense of them. “The memories...” he trailed off, waiting for my response.

 

Startled, I looked back up at him. It was still a little difficult to look at him without another image overshadowing the figure in front of me, but I found that if I focused on the here and now, I could manage it. His eyes continued to show concern, and perhaps a question. He knew I was remembering something... but the way he said it. 

 

I again remembered Riku as the warrior with the gunmetal grey blade. 

 

“They’re real...” I muttered. “You have them too...”

 

“Yeah...” He knelt down to sit next to me. “What do you remember?”

 

I huffed, “Enough to know that you shouldn’t be sitting next to me.”

 

“I can take you...” Riku’s mouth quirked up in a smirk. “But try again.”

 

“Ven... Terra, Aqua... the unversed... Xehanort...” I gave him a wary glance. “You...”

 

“Huh... so you were in there...”

 

“In where?”

 

He shook his head. “It’s nothing... it might be better if you remembered more on your own.”

 

I sigh, “How did you know I was remembering things?” 

 

“Kid... Grey... came into my room in near tears...” He shot me a warning glance that I had a feeling had nothing to do with my less than ideal past life. “You're gonna have to apologize for scaring him.”

 

“Well, it’s not like I meant to!” My voice was hoarse when I raised it, but Riku got my point. 

 

“Hmph... anyway, he came in and said that you had started panicking while listening to the story of the wayfinder trio...I knew that story by heart... and kind of put two and two together.” 

 

I nodded and swallowed, before grimacing at the taste of lingering bile. “Ugh... that’s disgusting....”

 

“Oh... wait a moment....” He got up off the floor and I followed him, my legs still feeling shaky and uneasy but I felt better standing upright, though I kept my eyes on the ground else I’d feel dizzy. “Sora?” Riku called out

 

“Here, Riku!”

 

In the doorframe were the most obnoxiously yellow shoes I had ever seen. I quickly tore my gaze off the shoes and focused on black shorts and a black shirt. A hand was holding out a small cup of water. 

 

Finally my eyes reached his face... and his hair... and suddenly all the comments and stares I got about my hair all made sense. 

 

This boy’s hair was just as spiky, sticking up at the same odd angles, except where my hair was raven black, his was a brown color. Bright blue eyes... The exact same shade as Ven’s stared at me while a gentle smile caused his eyes to crinkle. “Hey! You feeling better?”

 

Another image overshadowed me. This same boy, this Sora, standing with keyblade in hand, ready to take on anything or anyone to save those he held most dear. 

 

Quickly, I took the cup of water and headed over to the sink so I wouldn’t have to answer. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the boy tilt his head in question before turning back to Riku. 

 

“You okay?”

 

“Yeah... hey, can you take the kid out to get more ice cream... get money out of my wallet and just grab the biggest container they have.”

 

“Dude, I don’t think you have the freezer space for a tub that big.”

 

“You don’t think between the four of us we can finish it?”

 

“Hmm... true...” He quickly pecked Riku on the cheek. “But when we come back, we’re both demanding answers...and possible cuddles.” 

 

Riku huffed out a chuckle and nodded. “Alright... now go...”

 

Sora nodded and gave me another worried glance before ducking out of the door frame and calling for Grey to help him find his way to the store. 

 

I finished rinsing my mouth out and glared at Riku. “I’m not explaining anything...”

 

“You don’t have to. I’ll come up with something.”

 

I hesitated for a moment. “Sora... does he--”

 

“No.” 

 

The answer was short and Riku immediately looked away when he said it. After a heartbeat or two, he continued. “I mean... I don’t think he does. I think he might get feelings sometimes, especially when we meet or talk to someone from back then. But... no. And I don’t want him to.” He shot me a glance like ‘ _ so don’t mention it. _ ’

 

I quickly nodded, “But why? He was... well... from what I remember, he was kind of the hero of the story.”

 

“Yeah... and with that came a lot of heartbreak and a lot of guilt. I don’t want him to relive that if he doesn’t have to.” 

 

“Yeah... but there’s another reason...” Another memory flashed by, a girl with red hair, blue eyes, holding a keyblade a little off balanced, but determined,  “Kairi.” 

 

Riku jerked and I knew I had hit the mark.

 

A distant, disconnected feeling went through me. Not quite a memory, or an emotion. But a fierce need to protect the red haired girl. The feeling was detached, like an echo of an echo. “You think Sora loved her...”

 

“He still might... if he remembers...” 

 

In my heart, I didn’t think that was quite true. 

 

My tears mostly dry now, I exited the bathroom, walking in a daze to the couch. Sinking down onto the familiar fabric I drew my knees up to my chest. 

 

Riku sat next to me and, after a moment of hesitation, laid a hand on my back. 

 

“What do I do now?” I wondered allowed, not really expecting an answer. 

 

After a moment Riku spoke, “What do you think you should do?”

 

I shrugged in response. The memories in my head conflicted with each other, but both felt like me. I wasn’t sure though which one was dominant... which I wanted to follow. 

 

“You can choose, you know,” Riku offered. “To be honest, I like Vani...”

 

I huffed and turned my head, looking away from him. 

 

“No seriously,” Riku continued, “From what I remember, Vanitas... only cared about himself, but Vani... I think Vani cares a lot about my brother. And that means a lot. And he likes Sea Salt Ice Cream... and he likes the stars...”

 

“Vanitas... me... I-I liked the stars back then too....” I mumbled, a memory of looking out at the empty landscape of the badlands and wondering on which star Ven was. 

 

“Then that’s something that carried over.”

 

“I guess,” I shrugged. I knew Riku was trying to help, but it he and had to deal with a completely different set of memories. He was the hero back then. I definitely wasn’t. How could he possibly understand?

 

He couldn’t. I had to deal with this on my own. 

 

“We’re back!” Sora called out as he slammed the door open, the door knob nearly knocking a hole in the wall. In his arms was the largest tub of ice cream I had ever seen. He quickly ran to the kitchen, digging out bowls and spoons. 

 

Grey followed close behind, expression way more subdued than Sora’s as he slipped his shoes off and closed the door. 

 

“Riku! Where's your ice cream scoop?” Sora called out, digging through the silverware drawer. 

 

“It’s in the drawer by the-... no not that one!” Riku got up, patting my shoulder lightly before heading to the kitchen to help Sora. 

 

Grey quickly took his brother’s spot. He glanced up at my face though quickly turned away, and I tried to reassure him. 

 

“I’m fine... just... stomach didn’t agree with me there.”

 

“...right...” It was clear that he didn’t quite believe me, “I’m sorry if I made you upset, I thought you’d like the star projector.”

 

Quickly, I grabbed his hand and held on. It felt like a lifetime ago that I had been holding on to his hand as we looked up at the facsimile of stars on his ceiling, and I guess in some ways, it had been. “I did! I really, really did!”

 

Finally he turned to look at me, “But you...”

 

“Something just didn’t agree with me, really!” I tried to smile, “Just... some bad things came up. It’s complicated and... I don’t really want to talk about it right now. Riku helped though, so I’m just ready to eat some ice cream and relax.” 

 

I had meant the words to reassure him, but Grey’s expression became even more withdrawn. 

 

He didn’t let go of my hand though, and I selfishly used that warmth as a beacon to keep me here in the present for the rest of the night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! Sora has finally made his appearance. Just in time for things to get really weird. :D
> 
> I hope the constellation "lesson" sounded okay and made sense. I based the whole star projector & audio tape off of a similar item I had when I was....alot younger. I was picturing a sort of documentary/audio lecture type voice saying all that. Or Morgan Freeman. 
> 
> And yes, Vanitas now remembers most of his past (I'm being purposely vague on the whole final battle thing for a number of reasons). And yeah, Riku knows as well. 
> 
> ...I wonder who else remembers...??? ;D 
> 
> It's so strange. About 50-70% of this chapter was written more than a year ago (the scene where Vanitas remembers is one of the first things I wrote for this fic. Some of the dialogue has shifted, but it has pretty much remained the same ever since I wrote it.) and now it's being published...
> 
> Title Hint: The song is from a disney sequel.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter where 50% of it was written over a year ago, and the other 50% didn't get finished until about a week before I posted chapter 1. Weird how fics work like that...

Monday could not come soon enough.

 

After the revelations on Friday night, the new/old set of memories began to shift and settle in my head. Once the initial onslaught had finished, I found that I could keep the older set of memories almost locked up behind a glass door. They were still there, still visible, but they wouldn’t burst forth unless I needed them.

 

I wanted to say that I would never need them. 

 

To distract myself from the memories, I focused entirely on the history project. Grey and I were actually able to get a good start on it once I calmed down a bit more. He noticed my need to focus on something else and accepted that, though I could tell he was curious about what had happened. 

 

The incident actually did provide inspiration for our project. We had returned to Grey’s room to get out our history books when I accidentally kicked the star projector from where Grey had left it. The silver haired boy quickly picked it up, not wanting a repeat of the incident that put me in front of the toilet. But the sight reminded me that the stars held stories in them. Even if they were considered myths and legends in this world, they still had a bit of “history” to them. 

 

We decided to focus our project on storytelling history using the stars, and would build a custom star projector to explain it to the class. 

 

We were still discussing the project into the early hours of the morning, Grey laying on his bed while I curled up on the air mattress. Surprisingly, I slept dream free, in spite of all that had happened that night.  I still woke early though, body used to getting up to prepare Gra---Master Xehanort’s- Grandfather’s? breakfast. _(... that was gonna take some getting used to.)_

 

Riku was also already awake, and silently passed me a cup of coffee. 

 

I hadn’t ever tried coffee before, so I took a sip.

 

_ Ugh, gross! _

 

Riku let out a quiet laugh at my expression as I stuck my tongue out at the offending beverage and instead offered me creamer and sugar instead. 

 

I poured in way more creamer than was probably necessary and a bunch of sugar, but the next time I took a sip, the coffee was at least palatable. I glared at Riku, drinking my sugary concoction in defiance as the older man continued to chuckle. 

 

“Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting that! But I think you poured in enough sweetener to out do Sora!” He grinned as he calmed down a bit. 

 

“Whoever can drink that shit black must be as bitter as that coffee....” I muttered, taking another sip. 

 

“Well...” Riku trailed off but raised his mug, which was probably full of what I now realized was black coffee. 

 

I huffed but took a seat across from him at the table. 

 

“Sleep well?” He asked, reading over the newspaper. 

 

“Yeah... surprisingly... considering....” I shrugged. “I mean... I’m trying to keep it locked behind a door in my head but...”

 

“We wielded giant keys that could unlock nearly any door,” Riku stated, voice dry as he turned the page, “I doubt locks really hold much meaning to us anymore...”

 

“True...” I took another sip. Then another thought occurred, one that I was surprised I hadn’t asked about last night. 

 

But to be fair, I had a lot more on my mind last night. 

 

“So...” I started, “A few weeks ago, when I told you about my brother Ven--”

 

“I didn’t lie...” Riku said quickly, “I mean... Yeah, I do know Ven, but only in that past life. I haven't encountered him here...” He took another sip of coffee, “It wouldn’t have helped you if I said that I did know of him, but couldn’t help you locate him...sorry.” He paused, looking up at me, “Is it weird to have him as your brother?” 

 

I shrugged, “Honestly, the feelings I have of him as my brother are way stronger than anything I felt for him before... so... not really...” 

 

Riku nodded, placing his coffee cup down on the counter and picking up his newspaper, obviously trying to look nonchalant. “So... your Grandfather comes back tonight...”

 

“Yeah...”

 

“It’s who I think it is, right?”

 

“Color of my eyes give it away?” I asked rhetorically before looking back at my coffee, giving it a swirl and watching the cream mix more with the dark liquid. “Not sure how that’s gonna work...”

 

“You can always stay--”

 

“Nah. Or well... maybe? I don’t know. He didn’t put in much effort to find Ven when he left but... I’m not sure if...” I shrug, not sure how to put it into words. “I get these... feelings sometimes, I guess. Usually when I’m around him. Just this... rise of anger. I’m not sure if it’s him that’s doing it, or if it’s, I dunno, the memories that have now surfaced.” I took another sip of coffee and swallowed, though now my throat felt dry. “It makes me nervous, what’s gonna happen when I go back.”

 

“You don’t have to go back.” Riku emphasized his words carefully, and I understood what he was offering. 

 

Still, I shook my head. 

 

We stared at each other for a long moment, before Riku let out a long sigh of exasperation. 

 

“Do you think that he remembers?” 

 

“... I’m not sure,” I shrug. “I think he at least has.... I dunno... gut feelings? Maybe? Sometimes... the way he looks at me, knowing what I know now... it’s very similar.”

 

“Hmm...” Riku finally put down his paper and glanced up, “Well... I don’t like it--”

 

“You don’t have to,” I muttered taking another sip of coffee. 

 

Riku glared at me and continued, “I can’t stop you from going back, no matter how much I want to.” He let out another sigh, “Just... know that you can come back if you need to hide from Master Wiggly Fingers.”

 

Master Wiggly Fingers? Suddenly I had a vision of Xehanort doing one of his ‘Seeker of Darkness’ speeches with his weird hand motions.

 

The sip of coffee I had just taken ended up sprayed all over the table as I laughed and coughed at the same time. I slammed my coffee down on the table and Riku hurried to get paper towels. I was still chuckling to myself as Riku returned, and by that time Grey and Sora had come into the kitchen to see what the commotion was about. 

 

I could barely look at Riku without bursting into laughter again so instead I laid my head down on a clean spot on the table, still chuckling. “He-He still does that, you know?” I raised my hand and in my best impression of my former master said, “So Vanitas, would you do your Grandfather a favor and do the dishes? I’m afraid my old back just can’t handle the strain...” I wiggled my fingers the way he would and burst out into another round of giggles. 

 

After finally catching my breath I was able to look up, finding Grey staring at me in a mix of confusion and concern. Sora though was staring at Riku, an oddly contemplative look on his face. 

 

I turned back to Grey, “Sorry... your brother’s pretty funny, you know?”

 

Grey’s brow furrowed and his mouth was set in a small frown, “He’s dorky.”

 

“Yeah... but funny...” I let out a deep sigh as the last of the laughter left. 

 

“What did he say?” Grey asked curious. Over in the kitchen Sora and Riku were arguing over the last bit of coffee. 

 

I shrugged, “Just something that Grandfather does while speaking.”

 

“Uh huh....” The frown didn’t go away but he did take a seat next to me. Sora and Riku joined us, bringing muffins to the table. 

 

“So, Vanitas right?” Sora asked grinning, “I didn’t introduce myself last night! My name’s Sora!” He leaned back in his chair, swinging his arms behind his head. It was a gesture that was so reminiscent of Ven, that I couldn’t help but grin back. 

 

“Right... I’ve heard a lot about you.” 

 

“Good things, right?”

 

“Meh...” I shrugged and the brunet instantly began pouting at his boyfriend. 

 

Riku just sighed and tweaked Sora on those, “You’re just too difficult to describe.”

 

“Loud, obnoxious, forgetful...” Grey listed off, “And that’s just off the top of my head. Give me an hour and I can try harder.”

 

“Hey!” Sora shot out of his chair and started ruffling Grey’s hair, “That’s not fair! I don’t say that about you!” 

 

Grey huffed, but didn’t try to get away and after a moment of no reaction, Sora backed off. 

 

“You okay, kid?” 

 

Even Riku was looking at his brother in concern as Grey shrugged, “Just tired, I guess.” He sighed and got up from the table. “I think I’ll just... go back to bed...” 

 

He looked at me with what I almost thought was a glare for a second before shuffling back to his room, closing the door loudly behind him.

 

“... was it something I said?” Sora asked, tilting his head in confusion. 

 

“No... he’s just being a brat,” Riku muttered. 

 

Quietly, I finished my coffee, watching Grey’s door in confusion. Did I do something wrong? 

 

Maybe Grey didn’t like that I was keeping something from him. I should probably explain something eventually, but I wouldn’t know where to begin. If I just came out and said that I was having flashbacks to another life, he’d probably think I was insane. 

 

Which... okay, wasn’t that far from the truth, at least in regards to that other life. 

 

I heard a soft snore and glancing over, I saw that Sora had fallen back asleep, leaning against Riku’s shoulder. The silver haired man wrapped an arm around his boyfriend, and continued reading the paper. 

 

I sighed and took my mug to the sink before cautiously approaching Grey’s room. I knocked as quietly as I could before ducking inside. “Grey?”

 

There was a noncommittal grunt from the burrito of blankets from the bed. 

 

Awkwardly I continued, “I think I’m just gonna get changed and go home. Mas... I mean grandfather is coming home before noon, so I should probably be there before he returns.”

 

“F’ne.”

 

Though the words were said sleepily, I didn’t think he was sleeping. He was breathing too lightly, almost as if he was afraid to make any noise at all. I tried to avoid looking at him while I changed, slipping on the jeans from last night and tossing on my jacket. 

 

Before I left, I walked over to the bed, where Grey was still curled up in his blankets, back to the door. I reached out, aiming for his shoulder, but hesitated at the last moment, dropping my hand instead. “I’ll see you Monday, yeah?”

 

Another noncommittal grunt. I frowned but exited the room, slinging my backpack on my shoulder. 

 

Riku and Sora waved at me as I passed the kitchen on my way out.

 

I walked home slowly, still confused by Grey’s actions, but hoped that he would be in a better mood by Monday. 

 

I got out my keys to unlock the door, but as I turned the knob, I realized that it was already unlocked. 

 

My heart felt like it dropped out of my chest. 

 

I... I know I locked it yesterday! 

 

My eyes glanced over to the driveway. Where Xehanort’s car now sat. 

 

Great.

 

“Oh, out late were you?”

 

Startled, I dropped my keys. I glanced around as I picked them up, quickly finding the source of the voice. 

 

Our nosy neighbor, Ms. Gothel, stared at me with absolute delight in her eyes from where she was looking over her 8 foot fence. 

 

“Oh, he was in quite a stir this morning!” she cackled, “Really should have listened to your Grandfather, dear, and stayed inside.” 

 

I glared at her until she retreated down her ladder, muttering about ‘ungrateful men,’ before taking a deep breath. I hoped that my heart didn’t just pound right out of my chest and opened the door. 

 

“Ah, Vanitas. I wondered where you had gone.”

 

He came into the front entry hall, and though his words sounded like he was just mildly curious, his hard stare and the way his hands didn’t even move said otherwise. 

 

For all our joking earlier, his hand movements were a good indication of what sort of mood Xehanort was in. Hand movement meant he was feeling superior. No hand movement meant he was pissed. 

 

My hands immediately went to the straps of my back pack, up and ready to defend myself just in case one of his hands went for my throat. Though he had never choked me in this life, my past self remembered the feeling all too well. 

 

He stared at me for a moment longer before huffing in derision and walking away. 

 

“I hope you had breakfast wherever you were. You’ll only be cooking my meals today.” 

 

My hands clenched around the straps of my back pack at his voice. How could I have ever mistaken this man’s tone for Grandfatherly affection?  How had this man ever even reproduced?! Every action of his was pure disdain and manipulation. 

 

I glared at his back before running up the stairs to deposit my backpack in my room. 

 

As soon as I reached my door, I felt that something was wrong. Cautiously, I opened my door. 

 

My room was a disaster. 

 

My clothes were scattered on the floor and my bed was completely unmade. The desk drawers had been ripped open. 

 

I tried to take another deep breath, but my heart felt like it was going to jump out of my chest and my stomach was in knots. 

 

Did he use an Aeroga spell in here or what? 

 

I shook my head, clearing my mind of those thoughts. Magic didn’t work in this world, or, at least, I hope it didn’t. But my own unusual powers of physical manifestations of emotions had not made a return despite the rush of emotions running through me now. 

 

I dropped my backpack and began to pick up the mess, putting the dresser drawer away. I noticed that the false bottom was now in shatters. Thankfully, I had those key chains on me. And Mom’s ring. 

 

_ Mom’s ring. _

 

The drawer slipped out of my fingers, slamming down on my foot but I didn’t notice the pain. Quickly, I searched my pockets, though I was sure I hadn’t taken out the good luck charm. 

 

My pockets came up empty. 

 

Okay, okay. Deep breath. Think. The key chain -- _Void Gear_ , I realized now but that wasn’t important! -- and Mom’s ring -- _way more important to the here and now_ \-- may have fallen out when I was at Grey’s apartment. I could just ask him on Monday...

 

Or they could have fallen out on the way home. 

 

I quickly shook that thought away. No. Lost in thought or not, I definitely would have heard that. 

 

I heard footsteps come up the stairs. Xehanort didn’t bother with skipping over squeaky floorboards or keeping his footsteps light. 

 

 

He never had to worry about such things.

 

I huffed and quickly resumed putting the room back to rights. I felt his stare on me, though I refused to meet it. I didn’t need that rush of anger and hate right now.

 

I really didn’t want to find out what it would do. 

 

After a long moment he turned and left, probably to go back down to his study. 

 

I let out a sigh. It was going to be a long weekend. 

 

After putting my room back in some sort of order, I began to feel hungry. Remembering Xehanort's “orders” and knowing that he would not be emerging from his study till dinner time, I reached under my bed instead, hoping that he had not found the granola bars. 

 

My hand landed on one and I eagerly snatched it from under the bed. I’d have to think of a new hiding place anyway. Who knows when he’ll do something like this again?

 

I should have realized. The incident with the desk yesterday had been a warning. 

 

I was suddenly grateful that I had left Mom’s ring at Grey’s house. I wasn’t sure how this weekend would turn out and it needed to be safe. 

 

For once in either life, I had something I wanted to keep safe. 

 

Then I thought of Grey’s shy smiles, glowing eyes, and hands that were both strong and gentle. 

 

Well... two things. 

 

With nothing else to do and knowing that Xehanort would be watching the door to make sure I didn’t leave again, I began on homework. 

 

I almost wondered why homework mattered now. I had a whole other life in my head I still had to sort through. But the monotonous and boring work actually helped anchor me as the memories began to leak from under the door. Riku had been right: For a keyblade wielder, nothing stays locked up forever. 

 

The weekend went by both too slowly and too fast. 

 

Unless I had to cook dinner for Xehanort, I barely left my room. Once again, the old man complained about the lack of variety in the dinner. With a small, unnoticeable grin, I now realized that back in the old world, food really did just seem to appear when we needed it. 

 

Again, I wondered just how much Xehanort remembered. 

 

For me, the memories continued to slip under the cracks all weekend, though the emotions attached to them remained distant. It wasn’t as nauseating as it had been at first. After homework was finished, there was nothing else to anchor me in the here and now, so the memories did over take me for hours at a time. 

 

Did school even matter anymore? But what else would I do? The only thing I had been any good at, the only think Xehanort made me good at, was fighting. I could probably be a soldier in this world, but the thought of taking orders from someone else made me nearly as nauseated as the initial onslaught of memories. 

 

By the time Monday did roll around, I had no answers, and so with nothing better to do I decided to go ahead and go to school. The future could wait. 

 

Besides. Grey would be there. 

 

Due to Xehanort’s disgust with technology in general, we did not have a phone, so I did not have any sort of way to contact my friend all weekend. I hoped that whatever had made him grumpy on Saturday morning was over with. 

 

Unfortunately, it appeared that he was still upset over something. Grey barely spoke a word to me during biology, and he ignored me entirely in history class. 

 

_ What did I do wrong? _

 

I looked for him after school, ready to give him a piece of my mind, but I didn’t see him in the initial onslaught of students leaving the building. It wasn’t until I glanced down the street that I saw his silver hair, already on his way home. 

 

“Grey!” I shouted, running to catch up, “Grey! What the hell? Why are you ignoring me?” I paused, thinking maybe that came off too angry. “Did I do something?”

 

Grey huffed, then finally stopped walking, “It’s nothing... I just... I just want to be alone for a bit.”

 

“I... okay?” I got that, “But... can we still walk together? I won’t talk if you don’t want me too..”

 

“No.. I...” Grey groaned in exasperation, before finally meeting my gaze for the first time all day. As soon as he did, his cheeks seemed to glow red and he quickly looked away again, “I suppose. Since we’re going in the same direction anyway.”

 

The walk went by quickly, if awkwardly and soon I was waving goodbye at the door to his apartment. He didn’t invite me in as usual and I felt like intruding if I asked. 

 

I headed home instead. 

 

I had just put my hand on the door knob when I realized I hadn’t asked Grey about my keychain and ring. 

 

I hesitated for just a moment before turning away from the door. 

 

Something was wrong with Grey. He was upset about something and always helped me when I was upset, even when I couldn’t ask for help because I didn’t know how. This time I just let him be upset. Maybe he didn’t know how to ask for help either.

 

I lept off the porch to the house and ran all the way back to Grey’s apartment.

 

The street lamps were already turning on, the colder days also meaning shorter days.

 

One of the apartment building’s other residents was leaving just as I ran up and I just nodded to her in thanks as she held the door open. Quickly, I sprinted up the stairs. 

 

I heard the shouting before I even reached the Grey’s apartment. I stood at the door, hand ready to knock as the shouting grew louder. 

 

“That’s not fair to me or Kairi, Riku!”

 

“I know it’s not! I told you I’m selfish!”

 

“Argh! I told you! It wouldn’t have been selfish if you had just told me! We could have worked through it together instead of you always thinking you’re alone!”

 

“I didn’t want you to remember!”

 

“Nearly twenty years too late for that!” 

 

Ahh. Sora remembered. Or rather, Sora had  _ always _ remembered. 

 

The shouting had come to a stop and I took this brief opportunity to knock on the door, hoping that maybe if Grey was in there, he’d be looking for an escape, even if it was with me. 

 

But, much to my dismay, it was Riku behind the door when it finally opened. His cheeks were inflamed with both anger and embarrassment. Given the awkward silence that followed, I gathered that Riku not only knew that I had caught them shouting at each other, but that I also knew what they were shouting about. 

 

I also deduced that Grey was not there. 

 

“Ah... I was looking for Grey,” I mumbled, looking more at my feet than into the apartment. 

 

“Uhh... he’s not here.”

 

“I gathered.”

 

A long sigh came from inside the apartment and the door jerked open farther, revealing Sora. 

 

“C’mon in, Vanitas. Riku is just being a jerk, but Repli-- I mean, Grey, should be back any moment,” Sora beckoned me inside and Riku moved out of the way with a quiet grumble. 

 

I sank onto the couch, Sora taking a seat next to me. In the kitchen there were sounds of Riku cooking. When he caught me staring, the older silver haired boy quickly ducked his head into the fridge, either searching for more ingredients or trying to hide his embarrassment. 

 

“Grey went out to pick up some dessert for after dinner,” Sora explained. “Sorry you had to hear that, but sometimes Riku needs shouting at to get a point across.” His voice raised at the last part of the sentence, clearly directed at the older silver haired boy who was trying to become one with the fridge. 

 

More grumbling from Riku.

 

“So...” I brought up very hesitantly, “I take it you remember as well?”

 

“Well... I never really forgot, but yeah. It was more like dreams when I was younger, but it solidified over time.”

 

“How do you deal with it?” I barely breathed the words, but at the same time I desperately wanted to know. Riku seemed to acknowledge it, but didn’t want to talk about it or relive it, while Grandfather wanted to do nothing but relive it. I wanted some sort of middle ground, acknowledgement and talking about it, while also not reliving it. 

 

“Hmm?” Sora blinked in thought. “Well... I guess I just keep going.”

 

“Huh?” 

 

Sora grinned, “I don’t try to dwell on the past life, but I also have to acknowledge that all those experiences are what made who I am today.” He glanced over to his boyfriend who had finally ducked out of the fridge and returned to cooking. “Like, even when Riku didn’t remember things, I could tell that there were moments from his past life that were influencing his actions today. You never really stop being the person you were before, but that doesn’t mean that person’t can’t change and evolve.”

 

I sat quietly, mulling the words over in my head. “I don’t remember you being all that smart...”

 

“Hey!” Sora shoved me and I let out a small grin. “I’m a keyblade master, I had to be at least a little smart.”

 

“Nah...” Riku muttered, “Pretty sure you passed on brawn and good looks alone.”

 

“No, that’s what you passed on!” Sora stuck out his tongue, and Riku smiled back as if their argument from just five minutes ago was forgotten. 

 

Relationships were weird. 

 

Then the door opened, Grey’s voice calling from the hallway. 

 

“I couldn’t pick what ice cream to get, so I just got both. I figured we could--” he cut himself off when he saw me sitting on the couch next to Sora. 

 

Between one blink and the next, Grey was out the door, the grocery bag he brought back falling to the ground with a crash. 

 

“Wait! Grey!” Riku opened the door and shouted down the hallway, but by the sound of the outside door slamming, Grey was already back out onto the street. 

 

Quickly, I jumped off the couch and ran to the door, ducking under Riku’s arm. Distantly, I heard Sora and Riku calling out my name, but I kept running down the stairs and out the door. I couldn’t spot Grey in the streetlights, but I took a chance and started running towards the park. 

 

I heard him before I saw him, the swing he was sitting on squeaking with his halfhearted movements, as he swayed back and forth, his eyes firmly planted on the ground in front of him. 

 

I approached cautiously, not really wanting to chase him all through Radiant Garden. 

 

A branch snapped under my foot and I cursed under my breath. Grey glanced up and spotted me. I froze, waiting to see what he would do. After a moment, he sighed and looked back down, resuming his lackluster movements on the swing. 

 

I took a seat on the swing next to his and glanced over. The mood was so different than it was a few days ago, when we were smiling and competing. 

 

“Are you mad at me?” I asked. 

 

“Yes...” came his quiet reply, then a deep sigh, “No...Not really...”

 

I reached over and laid a hand gently on his hand that gripped the swing chain. “Then why--”

 

“I... I don’t know...” Grey continued to look down. 

 

I sensed the lie in his words, and I squeezed his hand, trying to provide the same comfort he provided me with they day I tackled the Ven look-alike to the ground. 

 

His head was bowed so low, his hair covered his eyes, but I could still see the faint hint of a smile. 

 

“I just... got jealous I guess...” He finally admitted. 

 

“Jealous?” I blinked in confusion. “Of who? Me?”

 

“No... Of Riku...” The hand gripping the chain tightened. 

 

“Okay...Then what does that have to do with you maybe being mad at me?”

 

“Cause...”

 

I stomped down the instinct to push him into talking, instead trying to wait patiently. 

 

“Riku comforted you... when you got sick that night you slept over...” his voice was small, so unlike the Grey I had gotten to know

 

“Yeah... and?”

 

“I just... I got angry a bit... Sora said I was being silly and that maybe Riku could understand whatever it was that made you panic better than I could...”

 

“Well...” It was true, what happened that night. At the time, Riku really was the only person who would have had a clue to understanding what I was going through. 

 

“It just reminded me of when Riku and I were younger... no matter how many friends I made... it seems they were always Riku’s friends first... I got jealous, cause I thought you might like Riku more...” Finally he looked up, his face flushed with the admission and his hands were practically white as they gripped the swing’s chains with an ever tightening grip. 

 

As I stared back into his aquamarine eyes, a heavy weight settled in the area where my heart resided, and the strange butterflies in my gut started to act up again, fluttering around until I nearly felt sick with guilt. After a moment, Grey looked away and the butterflies lessened. 

 

I knew Grey was waiting for an answer, but I was at a loss for how to respond, how to comfort him. I retreated into my memories, not those of when I was Vanitas, apprentice to Xehanort, but to those days when it was just Ventus and I, and Ven would calm me when I would cry from loneliness. 

 

As gently as I knew how, I wrapped one hand around his on the chain, his hand cold from both the cool air and something else I couldn’t quite identify. I slowly stood up from my own swing and turned so I stood in front of Grey, taking his other hand in my own. His gaze never left mine. 

 

I took a deep breath, “I’ve never had a friend before. I mean... I had Ven... but that’s not really the same and he left and...” I stopped myself before I could ramble. “You’re the first person to really talk to me when I moved here.”

 

“You’ve talked to lots of people by now,” Grey mumbled, trying to pull his hands out of my grip, but I held tight. 

 

“Not like how I talk with you,” I squeezed his hands in what I hoped was a comforting gesture. “I still don’t think I know how to be a friend, but I do know that I really like talking with you. I like spending our time together and doing homework. Or even when we just sit in silence... I can definitely say that I’ve never felt like this with anyone but you,” I offered a small smile, and finally, he smiled back. 

 

“Same...” he whispered. 

 

I took another breath, knowing that I would have to explain a little about my other memories, though I wasn’t sure how.

 

“What happened the other night... when I got sick. That’s...” I struggled to find a word to explain it, “...complicated. The story brought up some memories that had been suppressed in a way. They weren’t good memories, and I was kind of a shitty person at one time. Riku kind of understood what I was going through and talked me through it... how to reconcile the new memories with the old ones and stuff.” I shook my head. “Like I said... complicated. I was trying to figure out how to tell you. 

 

Grey looked away and sighed. “Sorry for being a dick then...” 

 

I huffed and pressed my forehead against the chain near our entwined hands. “You’re not a dick... well... not a total dick.” 

 

He huffed back and one of his feet reached out to kick me lightly in the shin. 

 

“Ow!” I exclaimed, though I felt my mouth widening into a bigger smile. “See... there’s that dickishness coming through.” 

 

“Shut up...” he murmured and reached out with one hand, disentangling it from mine, and gently cupped my cheek. 

 

My face felt warm where his hand was, and my heart felt like it would burst out of my chest. But... it was a good feeling, and I didn’t want to pull away. My heart...

 

I had never really noticed my heart before. But now, with my memories in place, I couldn’t help but feel it. It beat so strong, like it was trying to escape. With each beat, I was reminded that I was alive, here and now. With Grey. 

 

Absently, I noticed that Grey’s thumb was rubbing lightly over my cheekbone before moving down to trace gently under my lips. Our faces were so close we were breathing each other’s air. His eyes, so green, glanced up into mine questioningly, and I nodded, not entirely sure what I was agreeing to, but trusting Grey. 

 

We both moved to close the last few centimeters and then his lips were on mine. My whole face felt hot, but it felt so good. I found myself wishing it could have lasted forever, but Grey broke away quickly, a bright red blush on his face. 

 

“Sorry... I.... Friends don’t really do that....” He looked off to the side, his hand moving back to clench at the chain of the swing. 

 

Gently, I moved my own hand so that it gently cupped his chin and moved his head so his eyes met mine again. “Yeah... I know. But, can we do it again?”

 

A grin lit up his features and a huff of laughter warmed the space between us. “Yeah...” 

 

Our lips met again. A distant thought about my previous life passed by. Even the deepest level of anger and resentment that caused the largest and most vicious unversed couldn’t touch the level of joy that swam through me as Grey wrapped his arms around my neck to get a better angle and a soft noise left his throat when my hand drifted to his waist. It was probably a good thing I had lost the power to create unversed. I’d hate to see what sort of creature would form from my unbridled happiness. Probably something sickeningly adorable. Like a fluffy puppy. 

 

“Woof!”

 

_ Well, shit. _

 

Startled, I pulled back, not missing the look of disappointment that crossed Grey’s face as we separated. I quickly stood and looked for the source of the bark. 

 

A dog, some sort of yellow lab mix, stared at me briefly before jumping up and trying to lick my face. 

 

“Argh... yuck!” I shouted, startled and heard Grey laughing. 

 

“Woof! Woof!” the dog barked, running over to lick Grey as well. 

 

“Pluto!”

 

One of the dog’s black ears perked up at the shout. “Woof!”

 

A short man entered the play area, with dark hair and comically red shorts. “Pluto!” 

 

The dog eagerly ran over and practically knocked the man over in his excitement. “Woof!”

 

The man tried to scold the dog for several moments before he ended up laughing and scratching the dog behind the ears. “Don’t run off again, boy!”

 

The dog merely woofed in agreement before sitting still for the man to clip a lead back onto his collar. 

 

“Sorry about that!” he called, waving his hand in apology. “Pluto gets excited for his walk sometimes.”

 

Grey laughed and waved back, standing up from his spot on the swing. “It’s okay!” I waved as well as the man and his dog walked towards the other end of the park. Grey turned to me, still smiling slightly. “So... you want to walk me home? Sora might eat all that ice cream...”

 

“Yeah.... but first...” I leaned in and kissed him again. It was addicting. 

 

He chuckled lightly when we parted. “We could do that at home too. Maybe after ice cream?”

 

I thought about how sea salt ice cream would taste on Grey’s lips and my face felt hot again. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to resist the urge to kiss him again. “Yeah... yeah... sure...”

 

Grey laughed, his own cheeks a little red, “Wow. One make out session and you can barely string two words together...” One hand rubbed at the back of his neck, but the other reached up and ran through my hair, straightening out the spikes. 

 

I couldn’t help it. I melted into the touch. I felt my face grow hotter and I kept running a hand through my hair anyway, our fingers brushing against each other for a brief second. I heard him giggle and I quickly hid my face in his neck. “...Shut up...”

 

Laughing and kissing in turns, we walked back to his apartment until we found ourselves kissing in front of the door his his apartment. 

 

“Well, well....” 

 

Startled, we broke apart. Self consciously, I swiped under my bottom lip as Sora grinned at our disheveled appearance. 

 

The older brunet continued to chuckle, and soon enough, Riku came over to see what was so funny. 

 

Grey’s face resembled a tomato and mine probably wasn’t far behind as Riku raised an eyebrow. 

 

After a long moment, Riku just gives a long, loud sigh and motions for everyone to come in side. “Vanitas is going to have to sleep in the living room now when he sleeps over.”

 

My face heated even more if it was possible. 

 

“Wow, really Riku? Even you didn’t follow that rule...” Sora grinned, poking his boyfriend in the face. 

 

“Shut up, Sora...” Riku groaned. He then turned to look at me. “You staying for dinner?”

 

“I...” I hesitated. I wanted to. I really, _really_ wanted to. Despite the teasing that I’m sure I would have to endure, or the awkward glances, I wanted to stay here and endure them with Grey. Holding his hand the whole time. 

 

But...

 

“I... I should get home. Xeha...” I paused, glancing over at Grey, “I mean, Grandfather... He was unhappy that I... slept over here the other night.”

 

Instantly, I felt Grey’s eyes on me. “I thought you said he was alright with it.”

 

I shrugged, “He changes his mind fast...”

 

Riku laid a hand on my shoulder, forcing me to look at him. “Vanitas... Are you--”

 

“I’m fine...” I lied. I think he knew I was lying too. 

 

“Vanitas...” Sora began, “You don’t have to...”

 

“I know...” I looked down. In seconds, I felt Grey’s hand grasp mine, and I squeezed it, taking what comfort I could, “I know... I just... I don’t know what else to do...”

 

Riku crossed his arms, “Sora and I... we can look into it. Try to figure out some options. In the meantime though...”

 

“I can’t stay somewhere else and expect him not to be angry if I tried to go back to get stuff,” I sighed and shook my head. “It’s... It’s complicated. But... if you do figure something out. Another option... let me know?”

 

“Of course,” Sora stated. 

 

I felt arms surround me unexpectedly. They weren’t Grey’s muscled arms, but thinner ones that held a quieter strength, and my face was buried in a black sweater that smelled of the ocean. 

 

I leaned in anyway, Sora’s arms tightening. It felt... it felt just like being back in Ven’s arms. 

 

“If anything happens, just try to get in contact with us okay?” Sora whispered into my hair. “Riku and I... we may not wield our keyblades anymore... but we’ll find some way to protect you. Okay?”

 

I huffed, but nodded. 

 

Grey took my hand again as Sora let go. 

 

“Hang on for a sec... can you come to my room before you go?”

 

“Yeah,” I nodded and he led me to his room. 

 

Somewhat reluctantly, he let go and went over to where he had thrown his backpack. “I meant to give this to you earlier... but...” He held out a very familiar key chain. 

 

“Void Gear!” I exclaimed, quickly reaching out for it. I barely glanced at the gears and eye gem before looking at the ring it was attached to. 

 

Mom’s diamond ring was still there and I couldn’t help let a sigh of relief fall past my lips. 

 

“Sorry...” Grey mumbled again, “I...know I should have given it to you way back in biology this morning but... I...” he fumbled over his words, “I guess I hoped that if I kept it, eventually you’d ask for it back, even if you didn’t like me anymore...”

 

I let out a weak chuckle, “Yeah well... I guess I can’t fault you on that. We’re both pretty stubborn people and I would need a pretty big incentive to talk to you if I was angry with you.” 

 

Grey grinned and I couldn’t help but land another kiss on his lips. His hands went around my waist while mine went around his neck, the hand not clutching Void Gear threading through silver strands instead. 

 

I could get used to this. 

 

There was a weak sort of choking cough sound by the door. Startled, we broke apart, turning to see Riku hurrying past the room to his own bedroom. 

 

Grey huffed and leaned in, hiding his face in my neck. “Sure... leave me alone with all that...”

 

“Not by choice, I assure you,” I whispered back, kissing his cheek as I pulled away. 

 

Grey showed me to the door, sharing one last lingering kiss before I had to leave to make dinner and pretend that my life with and perceptions of my grandfather hadn’t changed. 

 

I had never before, in this life or last, wished for time to just stop. But right at that moment, Kingdom Hearts itself could have shown up and divided the worlds again, and I wouldn’t have cared, not as long as I could hold Grey in my arms. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Any and all credit for "Master Wiggly Fingers" goes to LawnNinja. They commented once on a fic about "Master Wiggly Fingers" and I still have not stopped laughing. Please check out their awesome work as well! https://archiveofourown.org/users/LawnNinja/pseuds/LawnNinja
> 
> So, chapter 9 will either be out early, or out late next week. It'll depend on wifi service where I'm going and when I get around completing final edits on it. And it will be posted as one chapter. :D


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so just as a repeat: Xehanort is not a nice person. There is some physical child abuse in this chapter and some attempt at manipulation.
> 
> Hey, ya'll are getting the chapter early thanks to a surprise relaxation day that allowed me to edit. Though, that being said, it's over 100 degrees where I'm at, so my brain may have melted when it comes it editing.

 

“No lunch today, Vanitas?”

 

My head shot up from where it had been resting on the table. “Huh? Oh... no...” I tripped out of my chair. “I was up late studying...”

 

“That’s no excuse to forget your poor Grandfather’s food.” Wiggly fingers was back, which meant that Xehanort was in a slightly better mood than last week. His glare was still hard though and I felt it burning a hole in my head as I got out of my seat. Finally, he turned and sat down in his own chair, clearly expecting both breakfast and a packed lunch. 

 

I glared at his back, and marched towards the fridge, quickly pulling out the necessary ingredients for sandwiches and slamming them on the counter with probably more force than necessary. 

 

“Angry?” Xehanort asked, more out of curiosity than concern.

 

I stayed silent, refusing to answer that question. Nothing good ever came from answering it. 

 

_ “Are you angry, Vanitas?” _

 

_ The Master loomed over me, smirking. It was irritating. So damn irritating.  _

 

_ Another two floods burst forth from my shadow, while the hareraiser in the corner shook in fear.  _

 

_ “Stop gloating...” I spat out.  _

 

_ The smirk sharpened into something dangerous and I was suddenly thrown across the room with a burst of magic.  _

 

_ Pain radiated from my side.  _

 

_ “Are you angry?” _

 

_ “Yes dammit!” I shouted, “I’m pissed off. Is that what you want to hear?” _

 

_ “Good...” the old man smirked again, “Soon you’ll be able to control that rage, and the unversed that are born from it.” _

 

_ I wanted to tell him that the unversed weren’t born from the anger, the rage. They were born from the loneliness, the fear, the irritation.  _

 

_ As he stepped closer, the bunny lashed out with it’s ears, shaking all the while. The floods scratched and darted away.  _

 

_ Xehanort only smirked as he knocked them away with his keyblade, destroying the unversed with barely any effort.  _

 

_ I cried out as that negativity returned to me. Each emotion returning felt like a brand on my half of a heart. Another wound for Xehanort to pour the salt into.  _

 

_ “Now...Again...” _

 

I shook my head to clear the memory. I couldn’t let Xehanort manipulate me like that again. 

 

I shoved the sandwiches into a plastic bag and placed them in front of him before pulling out milk and cereal and a bowl and practically throwing them on the table as well. He could pour his own damn cereal.

 

“I’m heading to school...” I mumbled, already grabbing my backpack and shoving the books in. 

 

“Seems like a waste of time now...” he muttered as he placed the sandwiches in his bag to take to work. “Doesn’t it?”

 

I barely glanced at him before leaving. 

 

_ Seems like a waste of time now, doesn't it? _

 

What did he mean by that? Did he think that I was so useless at school that I might as well give up? Did he mean that he already had plans for me and therefore I wouldn’t need further education?

 

Or did it mean... now that he thought I remembered, I should find it a waste of time?

 

I shook my head of that thought. If he remembered, and thought I remembered, he’d probably waste no time in trying to get me to admit it. He wouldn’t... hint like this. 

 

Would he?

 

“What’s with the confused face?”

 

I looked up, startled to realize that I had already made it to Grey’s apartment. With the swim season over as of last week, Grey could now walk with me before school. I forced out a grin that slowly became real after he met me with a morning kiss. It was brief though as he quickly retreated, scrunching his nose. 

 

“You smell awful... and isn’t that the same shirt you wore yesterday...”

 

I frowned and tried to discreetly sniff myself and... yeah I was pretty rank. 

 

“Sorry.... I kinda fell asleep at the table last night. Xeh...Grandfather’s been acting odd so I didn’t want to go to bed until long after he did... but I fell asleep instead.” It wasn’t the first time I had to catch myself from saying Xehanort’s name. Not that I thought saying his name would do anything. It wasn’t like he was a dark wizard who would appear the minute you said his name....

 

_...Right?? _

 

Grey huffed and kissed me again, this time just a quick one on the cheek. “Well... I still have some extra deodorant and body spray in my locker from swim season. That will have to work for now...” He shifted his grip on his bookbag and I then realized that he was carrying the paper mache star projector we had painstakingly finished last weekend. 

 

_ “Are you sure it’s not... too unique?” I asked as I added black paint to the base of the projector. Grey was measuring and marking out the points on the globe where we would need to punch holes for the stars.  _

 

_ “Yeah... trust me, he just put that “unique” part on there so he wouldn’t have to sit through 30 power point presentations,” Sora chuckled, sifting through the paperwork he needed for his college application. “Leon gets annoyed at repetition.”  _

 

“Did Sora ever finish up his college stuff?” I wondered aloud.

 

“Hmm?” Grey glanced at me, “Uh... Yeah... He’s still pretty worried about how his gap year would affect his application process, but the guy advising him said it wouldn’t be a problem. Especially since Sora was volunteering and working during that time.” 

 

“Right...”

 

Grey and I would have to start thinking about colleges soon too. 

 

It was a little strange, planning a future with all these other memories in my head. But the more I focused on the here and now, the more I wanted this life. 

 

In many ways, this life was the second chance that the old me secretly wanted. 

 

“How was your Grandfather being weird?” Grey tugged on my hand so I wouldn’t accidentally walk out into traffic.

 

“Oh well...” I shrugged. It was hard to explain it to someone who wouldn’t understand the whole previous life thing. “Just... I dunno. He’s been more... him lately. Like... He’s still the man whose raised me for years, but it seems like every negative quality about him has been amplified.” It was hard to put into words, and worse, I wasn’t sure if what I was observing was indeed Xehanort growing worse, or if I was just looking at him clearer with the hindsight of the old memories. 

 

“Even though you now see him less often than you did before?”

 

“Yeah.... weird.” I noticed the frown on his face, “What? I’m fine. I promise, I can take care of myself.”

 

“I know you can,” he said, squeezing my hand. “Just... promise me that if he... I just don’t want him to hurt you...”

 

I tried to give a reassuring grin, but given the look in his eye, I couldn’t quite manage it. “It’s fine.”

 

“I don’t want you to stress yourself out. He’s not worth it.”

 

Grey had a point... even now, I was finding it difficult to express why, exactly I had to stay. Maybe it was out of some sort of moral obligation to the old guy, or out of some false hope that he would eventually reveal that he knew where Ven had been all along. 

 

Or, I thought wryly, maybe I could make up for past mistakes by being the inside man. If Xehanort was ‘awake’ it’d only be a matter of time before he started to stir up trouble and someone would have to keep an eye on him. 

 

It wasn’t a job I looked forward to though. 

 

“If it gets worse, I’ll come running,” I agreed. 

 

Grey huffed before lifting our entwined hands and kissing my knuckles. “You better.”

 

We grinned at each other, even as we walked into the school building. Namine met us by the lockers and smiled at our entwined hands, like she did every morning since the day after we became a couple. 

 

“Stop grinning!” Grey teased finally opening his locker and tossing me the body spray which I quickly applied. “You look like a loon!”

 

“I can’t help it!” Namine laughed, “You two just look so...” she sighed, not finishing her sentence. “It’s just nice to see you guys so happy...”

 

I looked at her while Grey changed out the books he needed for class. Not for the first time, I wondered if she was one who remembered. 

 

School passed quickly. By the time History rolled around, I was practically shaking, though not for the presentation that was coming up. 

 

It was Friday again, which meant that for the next two days, I would have no excuse to leave the house. With the project due this week, Xehanort ‘graciously’ let me spend Saturday and most of Sunday finishing the star projector (though we had it finished by Saturday night, Sunday was just an excuse to leave the house).

 

This weekend, however, there were no projects due. No major tests to study for. It would just be me and him in a house all weekend. 

 

My stomach turned at the thought. 

 

“Vani? We’re up...” Grey nudged me until I stood up. 

 

My hands shook as we stood up near the front of the class. We had practiced for Sora and Riku, who had applauded our efforts, but this was different. 

 

This was almost thirty people. 

 

Mr. Leonhart sat near the back of the class and gave a small nod, indicating that we should go ahead and start. 

 

My hands wouldn’t stop shaking until I felt a brief warm presence surround my wrist. I glanced down just as Grey pulled his hand away. 

 

“History has been passed down in many cultures through many different ways,” Grey started the presentation. “One of the earliest methods was oral storytelling, usually passing down stories from generation to generation.” 

 

I had to grin as he spoke. Unlike myself who, despite Grey’s soothing touch, still felt like I would shake apart when it was finally my turn to talk, Grey’s voice was steady and clear. I appreciated his brief touch though, reassuring me that he was standing beside me. 

 

As his portion of the presentation drew to an end, he glanced at me, asking silently if I was alright to take over. 

 

I took a deep breath and nodded. 

 

“Sometimes storytellers needed a prop or reminder of the story they were trying to tell. This is where our project comes in.” I revealed the star projector that was sitting haphazardly under a spare sheet from Grey’s apartment. 

 

After a quick glance at Mr. Leonhart for permission, which was granted, Grey turned off the lights while I turned on the lamp under the projector. Instantly, the classroom turned into a mini night sky.

 

“We didn’t include all of the major constellations,” I added as Grey took out a small laser pointed and directed it at one of the star clusters, “But we’ve included some of our favorites. We also created our own to tell some of the more recent history...” 

 

Once the classroom grew dark and I could focus more on telling the stories in the stars, I felt my heart rate go down. Perhaps it was a combination of pretending that the other kids couldn’t see me, or from talking about something that I was genuinely interested in. Either way, the presentation seemed to fly by after that. 

 

Grey and I traded off telling history, both new and old, through the constellations we had recreated on the projector. When I glanced at Mr. Leonhart at one point during the presentation, i thought I detected a small grin grace his features before it quickly melted into the usual indifference. 

 

The whole class clapped when we finished, Grey getting the lights while I packed up the projector. 

 

“Good job,” Mr Leonhart stated, quickly marking our results down on the paper. 

 

High praise, indeed. 

 

Grey and I shared a grin and took our seats. 

 

After the presentation, the rest of school passed in a distracted blur. Now that the nervousness over the presentation had passed, my thoughts focused more on to the upcoming weekend. 

 

Maybe I could make up a project of some sort? Or a test I suddenly had to study for?

 

But no... Xehanort, both then and now, could always sense through my lies and excuses. 

 

To put off the confrontation for a little longer, I stopped by Grey’s apartment that afternoon. 

 

“Hey! We’re home!” Grey called out as we entered the apartment, shucking off shoes and letting our backpacks fall to the ground. 

 

“Hey,” Sora called back quietly, “How was school?”

 

I frowned, unused to the brunet being so quiet, but when we glanced into the living room, we found out why. 

 

Sora and Riku were curled up on the couch, Riku lying mostly on top of Sora while the brunet ran his fingers through the short silver strands. Though his eyes were closed, I didn’t think Riku was sleeping. 

 

“Is he...?” Grey trailed off, running over to his brother in concern. 

 

“No... nothing to do with his heart medication. He just... It’s just a headache,” Sora tried for a grin but even I could see through it. 

 

Sora couldn’t lie to anyone. 

 

Grey saw through it to and shot the brunet a disbelieving look. “You don’t have to lie to me.”

 

Sora’s grin faltered, but before he could answer, Riku’s hand shot out and grabbed his brother’s. 

 

“It’s fine, Grey. It’s really nothing to do with my heart, I promise. Just... a few bad memories came up and put me out of commission for a bit...”

 

“About Mom and Dad?”

 

“...yeah.” 

 

If Grey noticed the hesitation, he didn’t say anything about it, instead turning to me.“I’m gonna go get a snack for everyone. Do you want anything special?”

 

I shrugged and shook my head, and he headed for the kitchen. As soon as he was out of earshot, I turned back to the older boys on the couch. 

 

“Was it--”

 

“Yeah...” Riku answered, cutting me off before I could even clarify. “It happens sometimes. Hear a loud noise... and suddenly your back there...” He closed his eyes again and nuzzled closer to the brunette he was laying on top of. “Sora helps though.”

 

Sora let out a little laugh and hugged the silver haired boy closer, “I could have helped sooner if you had just told me...”

 

“Yeah, yeah...’m an idiot...” Riku’s words grew more slurred as he drifted off to sleep. 

 

I glanced back to where Grey was still busy in the kitchen, then turned to Sora. “I... I don’t really have memories of that final battle...Riku said they might come back but...”

 

“Hmm... maybe you’ll be happier if they never do...” Sora shrugged. “It wasn’t... It was awful.” He ran another hand through Riku’s hair. “We had lost so many of our friends at that point. So many worlds were just... gone.”

 

I watched in slow motion a Sora’s eyes seemed to go vacant. One minute he was there in the living room with me, the next he was a million miles away. 

 

My heart felt like it was dropping, but in a way that made me feel like I suddenly couldn’t get enough to breathe. I was very, very familiar with this feeling, and on sudden instinct, I checked my shadow for any hareraisers or mandrakes. 

 

Obviously, none showed up, but that spike of fear remained. For some reason, Sora’s sudden silence and vacant expression scared me more than anything else ever had. 

 

Then, Riku moved again. A subtle burrowing into Sora’s shirt, unconsciously looking for the brunet’s hand to start moving again. Sora blinked once, then twice, shaking off whatever memory he had lost himself in. Then his hand moved through Riku’s hair and he shot me an apologetic look. 

 

“Sorry... you shouldn’t have had to see...”

 

“No...” I whispered, “It’s fine... Out of the two of us, it sucks that I’m not the one suffering like--”

 

“No!” Sora half shouted, before remembering the sleeping man on top of him. “No.. Vanitas. You don’t deserve to suffer anything for what you did in the past. It’s in the past. You have to move on...” 

 

I blinked, mostly in confusion, “But I--”

 

“Yeah, you did some horrible things, whether or not you remember it,” Sora muttered, clenching his fist into Riku’s shirt. “But... You’re not that person anymore. You deserve every moment of your second chance to count towards making yourself a better person, not to suffer for something that was also practically out of your control.” 

 

I blinked, and opened my mouth to answer, but was interrupted by Grey handing me a bowl of ice cream, this one colored a light golden brown color. 

 

“Sora ate all the sea salt,” he explained as he sat down next to me, sticking his tongue out at the brunet who smiled apologetically and rubbed the back of his neck. “So I got you some honey-bunny instead. I think it tastes like apples.”

 

“Hmm...” I took a bite, then another. “It’s good!”

 

For another hour or so, everything was perfect. Riku eventually woke up from his nap feeling a lot better, and Sora didn’t slip into his bad memories by accident again. Without the trouble of completing any pressing homework for the upcoming week, Grey and I were able to spend the time in his room playing video games and kissing. 

 

Mostly kissing. 

 

The video game was background noise. 

 

Reluctantly though I eventually heard the sounds of Riku’s medical alarm, which generally indicated it was my time to head home. With one last lingering kiss, I pulled away from Grey, helping him disentangle his hands from  my hair. I tried to brush it back into some sort of order, but must have only managed to make it worse as Grey only sighed and redid it. 

 

“There...” he said, trailing his hand down to my cheek. 

 

I couldn’t resist the urge to lean into it, kissing his palm as I did so. 

 

“Do you think you’ll be able to come over this weekend?” Grey asked as I put my shoes back on. 

 

“Dunno,” I shrugged, tying my shoelaces. “He knows I don’t have any major projects due, and he’s still pretty pissed about that night a few weeks ago.”

 

“When you stayed over, or when you ran over here the Monday after?”

 

“Both...” I tied the other shoe. “I don’t care about pissing him off. But it’s more than that...” Again, I found myself unable to explain it to someone who didn’t have a clue about a previous life. “I dunno...” 

 

Grey sighed and leaned so his forehead was pressing against my shoulder. “Vani....”

 

“What?” I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, relishing in the contact. In front of others, even Sora and Riku, we both found that we were too embarrassed to be able to touch and hold each other freely like this. We could hold hands at school, but that was about it. 

 

When we were alone though, we allowed ourselves to hug and hold each other as much as possible. 

 

It was something that I may have enjoyed more than the kissing. And I really enjoyed the kissing. 

 

In my arms, I felt him give a small shrug. “I just... have a feeling that something’s gonna happen. I know... you told me this morning that you can take care of yourself. Just...” He looked up at me. “I never met the guy, but the way you look talking about him... it just gives me a bad feeling. So please... if something happens, just... run away, okay? You promised you’d come running, but don’t do it as your last option. Do it as your first?” 

 

I looked at him, feeling my chest warm and I leaned my forehead against his. “I promise I’ll try.”

 

“Mm...” he hummed before raising his face to meet mine. Our lips brushed against each other briefly before he pushed up into me to deepen the kiss. 

 

I jumped when I heard Sora and Riku talking in the kitchen and I was reminded that it was time to head home if I had any hope of getting there before Xehanort returned. 

 

Grey walked me to the door and I took his hand right before parting. 

 

“I promise...” I repeated. 

 

He nodded and waved goodbye as the door closed. 

 

As I walked home, I absently kept touching my lips, the taste of a promise still lingering on them. It was only the second promise I had ever made, and this one felt like it held a deeper meaning than the childish promise with my brother. 

 

The wind picked up, and a chill ran through me, reminding me of the cold days that were sure to come. The sky turned brilliant shades of red and orange as the streetlamps started to turn on. 

 

The house came into view, and I pulled out my keys to unlock the door. 

 

_ Thunk! _

 

I stopped at the sound. My house keys were in my hand so what...

 

Oh...

 

I glanced down and saw Void Gear’s keychain, mom’s ring glinting from it in the fading sunlight. As I scooped down to pick it up, a memory flashed through me. That charm that Ven always carried around. The one that the girl, Aqua had made for him. Ven loved that thing, and ever since I noticed the damn thing, I remember wanting to break it in half. It was such a dumb, foolish thing to put your faith in. 

 

But now, I had my own lucky charm. Looking at it now in the dimming light, I now realized why I had such an affinity for this charm even when I hadn’t remembered my previous life. Void Gear was completely and totally mine. It may have come from the dark realm, but it answered only to me, not just a cast off of Ven’s. My own keyblade. 

 

It knew I was always my own person.

 

I let out a small grin as I tucked the keychain back into my pocket, feeling light hearted as I walked closer to the house. 

 

As I got closer though, I saw a dark black car parked in the driveway and my good feeling vanished. 

 

Xehanort was home early.

 

Unconsciously, I reached into my pocket and gripped the keychain. 

 

_ Give me strength.  _

 

I let out a deep breath and then walked up to the door, opening it slowly. I hoped that he may have just gone straight to his office. 

 

“Well, Vanitas...”

 

No such luck...

 

“I’m home...” I muttered, sighing and staring at the floor. All the energy I had earlier drained from me, and I suddenly just felt so tired. 

 

“Hmph,” Xehanort snorted from his place in the kitchen doorway, “Seems foolish to continue with this little charade. I know you remember...”

 

_ What? _

 

I grinned and tried to feign stupidity, “Remember what, Grandfather?”

 

The look he sent me wiped the smile off his face and I instinctively took a few steps back. Unfortunately the door already closed behind me.

 

He huffed and walked out of the doorway, stepping closer and further making me press up against the door. 

 

“Now, why show the fear. You never used to be that weak.”

 

I glared at him, “Shut up! Self preservation is not a weakness.”

 

“Feh. And what makes you think you have a self to preserve? Despite the circumstances that have led us here, you are still just half a being created from the darkness in Ventus’s heart.”

 

“No I’m not!” I shouted, getting ready for a fight. 

 

But just as I was about to toss my backpack down and throw the first punch, Grey’s voice echoed through me. 

 

_ If something happens, just run away, okay? You promised you’d come running, but don’t do it as your last option. Do it as your first? _

 

I had just made that promise. I wasn’t about to break it. 

 

This definitely counted as something happening, and I needed to get out. 

 

As I took a deep breath to calm myself I pulled my backpack to my chest. I’d need it with me if I were to escape. It had all my precious memories in it. 

 

The best exit was still behind me, but I would still have to turn or move further into the room to get it open. 

 

I had to stall and see if I could find the right opening. 

 

“I’m not that Vanitas anymore!” I shouted at him, holding my backpack close to my chest as I backed up towards the door. “I don’t want to be.”

 

“And you think your memories will give you much of a choice?” Xehanort took a step closer. “You may be able to keep them locked up for now, but when you can’t hold on to that key any longer, they will burst forth.” He laughed a little, “Do you have any idea how hard it was to play the doting grandfather.”

 

“You sucked at it,” I muttered, still putting myself between him and my exit, but keeping my eyes fixated on his own. “And I’ll deal with the memories as they come. My friends can--”

 

“It’s gonna come down to your friends, is it?” 

 

“At least I have some!” 

 

As soon as the words left my mouth, the memory of the older Ven saying those exact words to me flashed by and I nearly chuckle at the irony of the situation. 

 

A flash of fury crossed Xehanort’s eyes and the urge to laugh died in my throat. I hadn’t quite seen that look in this life, but my body tensed up in recognition. 

 

If only I could call upon my keyblade. 

 

But no, my keychain sat in my pocket. A source of comfort, but useless in this situation. 

 

After a moment, the old man just scoffed and moved as if he was turning away. I hoped this was my chance and turned towards the door. 

 

My mistake was taking my eyes off of him. 

 

Quicker than I thought he could move, he had his hand around my neck and threw me away from the door. 

 

I hit the stairs, the back of my head slamming on to a riser but thankfully it wasn’t hard enough to black out. My backpack was a weight on my stomach and I hurried to catch my breath, stumbling to my feet. 

 

“You’re friends in this world mean nothing,” Xehanort spat, both hands behind his back and slightly crouched, exactly like he used to stand when he trained me. “Mere figments of a life that’s not truly yours.”

 

“Shut up,” I mumbled, trying to regain my balance and wincing as the movement jostled my head. 

 

Xehanort scoffed again and glared, “Perhaps you spent too much time in that fool’s heart. You just need to grow strong again. Another few years in isolation might cure you of this ridiculous notion.” He smirked, “You didn’t seem too inclined to move here in the first place. Wouldn’t you like to go back to how it was?”

 

I could imagine it. Moving back to the Badlands. Back when everything wasn’t so... complicated. 

 

But no. 

 

Xehanort didn’t mean it like that. He meant moving back to the keyblade graveyard, for surely that it is what the Badlands were. Back to training in secret, preparing for the day I’d face Ven in combat. 

 

Back to pure, overwhelming loneliness. 

 

“Why?”

 

I tried to keep him talking, if only so he wouldn’t hit me again. Another blow to the head and I might actually black out. I didn’t want to find out what he’d do then. 

 

Would he just kidnap me?

 

“Hmm?” He raised an eyebrow at my question. 

 

“Why do you still need me. I must be pretty useless to you now. No keyblade, no magic. Can’t even make the unversed anymore...”

 

“Yes... an unintended consequence of this world...” He waved his hands in that annoying way, like he was playing a piano upside down. “One that will be washed away when we open Kingdom Hearts again.”

 

Again?

 

I knew I was still missing parts of those memories of the final battle. Where the guardians of light and the seekers of darkness fought. I figured that the Door must have opened, or something, and this new connected world was the result. But the events leading up to that were somewhat clear. The battles, the losses. 

 

It was hell. 

 

I could just tell from the distant looks on Riku’s face sometimes and Sora’s eager chatter to help him refocus. Or from how Sora would just go quiet and Riku would need to hug him just to draw the giddy brunet out of whatever memory he had lost himself in. 

 

Finding them on the couch just this afternoon. Still haunted by those memories. 

 

Why would anyone want to bring that back?

 

“No way! You’re crazy!” I growled, moving towards the door as best I could, I shuffled my bag onto my back so my hands were free. 

 

“Vanitas, I must insist you stay.” He raised his hand again, as if to cast a binding spell. I nearly froze, certain that it would work. 

 

But, obviously, nothing happened. As we had just been discussing, there was no magic in this world. 

 

I didn’t waste anytime launching towards the door, opening it and flying down the front porch steps. I sensed movement on my right and turning, I saw two beady dark eyes glaring at me from over the eight foot tall fence. 

 

Old shew Gothel wouldn’t bat an eye to turn me in, so I turned and ran in a different direction than I took to school or Grey’s house. It was closer to an intersection anyway. 

 

I didn’t think when I made turns, just ran across whichever crosswalk was open. 

 

Finally, I had to stop and take a breath, leaning up against the nearest building. The back of my head itches and I scratched at it absently. 

 

_ Ow! _

 

I hissed and pulled my hand away. Blood was smeared on the fingertips.

 

Great. 

 

I let out a sigh and tried to get my bearings. I had to get to Grey’s apartment and warn Sora and Riku about Xehanort. 

 

“Naveen! Come help carry the beignets!”

 

“Of course, _mi_ _fragee_.”

 

A long sigh, “That’s still an awful pet name...”

 

I glanced over to where the woman from the diner was walking back into the restaurant, her husband not far behind, both had their hands full with boxes. 

 

Distractedly, I now recognized the couple as the prince and princess from the strange swampy world with the odd music. Xehanort had thought she might have been one of the new princesses of heart. 

 

I shook my head. I could deal with that memory later. 

 

I tried to remember the route Grey and I took to get here, hoping that I could figure out a way back. 

 

Sticking close to the buildings, I set off down the street, hoping I was going the right way. 

 

As I walked, I tried to straighten out the thoughts running through my head. 

 

Xehanort knew. He remembered. 

 

He was planning to do it again. 

 

Distantly I watched the people walking past. 

 

Were they all once separated into different worlds? 

 

Would they want to go back to those worlds? Or stay here?

 

I couldn’t answer those questions, and neither should Xehanort. Or Riku and Sora for that matter. 

 

It was a mess, too complicated to comprehend, and too big of an ethical question for me to contemplate right now. 

 

I took a look around at the next intersection, relieved to find myself back in a familiar part of town. I remembered the way to Grey’s house from here and I took off running. 

 

I quickly found myself running up the apartment building stairs, then up the carpeted steps to 313. 

 

Thankfully, it was Grey who opened the door when I banged on it and I gratefully took the opportunity to collapse in his arms. 

 

“Vanitas!” 

 

I grumbled a reply to Grey’s shout. I felt him run his hands through my hair, which was nice. Until he brushed the bump on my head. Then it hurt. 

 

“Stop poking that...” I grumbled again. “Hurts...””

 

I felt Grey tense up, which wasn’t cool. He should be nice and relaxed and comfortable. I just wanted to go to sleep. 

 

“Vanitas!” another voice shouted and I grumbled again. 

 

“Whaaa.....”

 

“C’mon. Don’t go to sleep!”

 

Rough hands dragged me to sit on something that was not comfortable at all. A chair maybe? Grey helped remove some sort of weight from my back. Oh yeah. My backpack. 

 

Then a cup of liquid was placed in front of me. 

 

“Drink.”

 

I glared at the brunet in front of me. Stupid spiky hair. Then I drank whatever it was in the cup. Water probably. 

 

As the liquid settled in my stomach, I felt a little more clear headed, though the bump on my head still hurt. Sora grabbed my glass and quickly refilled it. 

 

This time, I drank the water more slowly, regaining my bearings. I hoped the disorientation at the front door was from dehydration and the muddled thoughts more than the injury to my head. 

 

I flinched when I felt something cold press up against it, more out of shock than pain. 

 

“Sorry!” Grey removed the cold and tried again, pressing it against the bump a bit more gently. “What happened? Did you run into a door?”

 

“Something like that...” I muttered, my hand reaching up to hold the cold press. He waved my hand away, instead reaching out with his other hand to interlace our fingers, a gesture of comfort. I squeezed his hand lightly in gratitude. “Grandfather...pushed me... more or less.”

 

“Into a door?” Sora asked, eyes narrowing. 

 

I shrugged, “More like into the stairs...”

 

“What? Was he angry at something?” Grey asked as he adjusted his grip on the cold press. 

 

“I wouldn’t agree to... do something for him,” I sighed. “It has something to do with those memories that came back...”

 

Grey nodded absently, though slightly confused. 

 

Sora knew exactly what I was getting at though. At his questioning look, I tilted my head in affirmation.

 

He let out a sigh and got up from his seat, pulling out his cellphone. “Riku had to go to a meeting for a group project, but I’ll call him to come home sooner. Maybe pick up dinner on the way.” 

 

Grey continued to make sure that I drank my water, my head clearing even more as I did so. Now that it was clear that my disorientation earlier had been from dehydration and exhaustion, I laid my head on the table, to cool surface soothing on my still heated face. 

 

“You’re not going back... right?” 

 

Grey’s voice was soft, and full of concern. I huffed and grinned and pulled his hand closer so I could kiss his knuckles. “Nah....”

 

We stayed like that for a moment longer while Sora finished up his phone call, too far away to be heard clearly. He returned after a few more moments and took a seat at the table again. 

 

“Riku’s on his way home. He’s picking up Thai... any requests?”

 

I shrugged, not really sure what Thai was.

 

“Just tell Riku to pick up double what he usually gets me,” Grey answered instead.

 

Sora nodded and began typing into hs phone. 

 

Grey adjusted the cold press again and looked at the bump. “I think the swelling has gone down, but I’m going to get you an ibuprofen just in case.” 

 

I sighed and nodded, using my own hand to adjust the compress while he slipped away towards the bathroom. 

 

“So... Xehanort huh?” Sora said quietly. 

 

“Yeah, he--”

 

“Hey Sora! You don’t have any ibuprofen in your bag do you?” Grey’s voice came from down the hallway. 

 

“Ehh... nope.”

 

“Damn...” 

 

There was some distant banging before Grey came running out, shoes on, “We’re out too. I’m going to run out to grab some.” He pulled a few dollars from the nearby drawer and quickly put on his jacket before running out the door. 

 

Beside me, Sora let out a small laugh and I turned to glare at him. 

 

“What?”

 

He grinned crossing his hands behind his head. “He really cares about you...”

 

Instantly, I felt my face heat up. “So?”

 

“And you care about him too, right?”

 

Though his tone was still teasing, I could detect the hint of a threat under there. “Yeah. What of it?”

 

“Hmm...” he glanced up at the ceiling, “I guess it really does bring out the best in people, doesn’t it?”

 

“Stop being vague,” I muttered, pulling my the cold compress away from my head when it started to sting a bit. “What does?”

 

“Love, of course!”

 

Instantly, I felt my face heat up more and I held the cold ice pack to my cheek instead, hoping to hide my embarrassment. “Shut up...I don’t see how I bring out the best in Grey. He’s already the best.”

 

Another laugh from Sora. “Nah. He was pretty bratty those first six months Riku and he were living together. Riku would call all the time saying that Repliku got into another fight at school or wouldn’t do his homework. It was obvious that he was grateful to Riku for getting him out of their parents house, but there were still a few kinks that had to be worked out. I think you helped out with that.”

 

“I didn’t do anything.”

 

“You didn’t have to,” Sora sighed. “It’s... complicated. But sometimes even just being around someone who understands and doesn’t judge you can make all the difference.”

 

“Huh...” I trailed off, not sure what to say to that, and wanting to change the subject to something less mushy. “So... Xehanort.”

 

Instantly, Sora’s demeanor changed and he took on a harder edge, one much more akin to the warrior i remembered from the battlefield. “Yeah. You think he remembers?”

 

“I know he does,” I stared up at his blue eyes, still so much like Ven’s. “He wants me to be his pawn again, to... to become that dark, hateful person. When I refused, he threw me into the stairs. I managed to escape when he forgot that magic doesn’t work in this world.”

 

“Hmm...” He crossed his arms and thought. “Why would he want you to be his pawn? I mean... he did get what he wanted already. Can’t he just leave it be?”

 

“He’s crazy...” I muttered. “I think he wants to do it again...”

 

“What? Bring back Kingdom Hearts and start the war again?!” Sora shot out of his chair, “But that’s--”

 

“Insane. I know. Thinking back to how we grew up... I think insane pretty much covers it.”

 

“Right...” Sora sat back down, then shot me a confused look, “Wait... we?” 

 

I shrugged, “Yeah, my brother, Ven, and I.”

 

“Wait!” Sora shot out of his seat again, this time knocking the chair to the floor, “You have a brother? Ven’s your brother?!”

 

“Uh... yeah...” Did I not mention that before? Did Riku not mention it? “Why?”

 

“Cause Ven is also my cousin!” Sora shouted. “Which means... you’re my cousin!” His smile was so wide, I wondered if his face hurt. 

 

“Wait... you came from the Islands right?”

 

“Yeah, Destiny Islands.” Sora’s grin finally faltered when I punched him in the arm. “Hey!”

 

“Ven went looking for you,” I muttered, “That’s why he ran away.”

 

“Oh... he did?” Sora rubbed at the spot where I punched him as he thought, eyebrows furrowed. “I think you’re mom visited when Ven was young. After your dad died, but before you were born. That was the only time I ever saw him, but... then something happened, and Dad lost contact with her. We got notice that she died a year or so later, but then no one could find out what happened to her kids.”

 

“Yeah... Xehanort told us that Dad’s family didn’t want us, so that’s why he ‘graciously’ took us in.”

 

“Oh...” Sora looked down, “I’m sorry. I know Mom and Dad tried really, really hard to find you guys before the accident...so...”

 

I looked down as well, “I’m sorry. I didn’t know.”

 

Sora shrugged, “It’s alright. Leon’s a cousin of sorts, but definitely became more of a big brother to Roxas and I.”

 

Roxas? Why did that name sound so... oh. 

 

“I think I met Roxas once... kind of thought he was Ven.”

 

Sora giggled, “Yeah, I could see that.” 

 

Then he stepped around the table and looked at me. “So, Ven’s disappeared right? And you’ve no idea where he’s gone? Any idea if he remembers?”

 

I shrugged, Suddenly, I remembered the postcard that still sat in my backpack. Hurrying over, I pulled it out. “I just know that he’s here. He sent this almost a year ago now.”

 

Sora studied the post card for a moment, then let out a sigh. “Well... I think for now we can talk to Leon and Cloud...”

 

“Huh? But what can Mr. Leonhart...”

 

Sora grinned, “Cloud works for the Radiant Garden Police department now. And before Leon was a teacher, he was the head of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee.” 

 

Huh... Restoration-- “You mean from before? They remember...”

 

“Yep,” Sora sighed and crossed his arms behind his head again, glancing frequently at the door as if hoping that Riku and Grey would return soon. “After Riku and I had our... disagreement, I decided to stop waiting for other people to acknowledge that they remembered. I didn’t want someone else to go through it like Riku did. Thinking he was alone. So when I went home I  asked Leon and Cloud about it, if they remembered or not.” He let out another grin, “I’ve always come across as pretty scatterbrained, so if they hadn’t remembered, I could have just played it off as that and they wouldn't have batted an eyelash.”

 

“What do you mean, ‘come across as’? You are scatterbrained,” I muttered, grinning when he ruffled my hair. 

 

“Yeah well...They did remember,” he gave another shrug. “We’re working to see if others remember as well. Tifa, Aerith... maybe Cid. We should form another group or something.”

 

“The Radiant Garden F-d up memories committee?” I asked, crossing my arms, “I don’t see that working out to well.”

 

“You have to admit though... it’s helpful to have someone around to remind you your not crazy.”

 

I stared at him, “How did you survive for nearly 20 years?”

 

He shrugged, “I dunno. Like I said, I just sorta... rolled with it. Remembering for me was not as sudden as it happened with your or Riku, so it wasn’t as... jarring.”

 

“Uh huh...” 

 

The door opened then, revealing both silver haired brothers in the doorway, having evidently ran into each other on their way back. Sora bounded over. 

 

“Don’t bother taking your shoes off, we’re heading back to Leon’s house!”

 

“Huh?” Riku questioned, letting Sora hang off of him while the brunet put his shoes on. “Why?”

 

“Because, Vanitas told me something about his grandfather, and thought he may not want to talk to the police directly.”

 

“Definitely not,” I agreed.

 

“Then we should at least take him to see Cloud. He might at least give Vanitas his options going forwards. And... well... he is kind of family...”

 

“What?” 

 

This time both brothers spoke in unison, but Sora paid them no mind, instead shoving them out the door. 

 

Grey paused just long enough to grab a bottle of water from the fridge, then took my hand as we were ushered out the door. 

 

On the walk over, Sora held Riku’s hand, effectively dragging him along. Grey held mine as we hurried to keep up. He passed over the pain relief pills and the water, which I gratefully took. 

 

“So... do you know what he’s on about?”

 

I shrugged as best I could while jogging. “Ven and I are Sora’s cousins, I guess.”

 

“Wow! Really?” 

 

I nodded, slowing down to a walk as Riku and Sora finally paused in front of a brick two story townhouse with a wooden porch. There were several lights on inside the building. 

 

As we walked inside, I already heard Mr. Leonhart talking to someone. 

 

“Sora didn’t pick up his phone, but I’ll try Riku instead.”

 

“Thank you...”

 

I froze, my brow furrowed in confusion. 

 

_ Terra? _

 

Grey slipped his hand into mine, squeezing it gently, even as he shot me a concerned look. I cautiously followed Sora and Riku further inside. 

 

“So sorry to have bothered you this late in the evening.”

 

Again, my heart stopped and I froze in my tracks. 

 

That was definitely Aqua. 

 

Grey followed me, hand clasped in mine as we walked through the entryway. To my right into the kitchen I saw the familiar blue hair of Aqua and Terra’s towering figure standing next to Mr. Leonhart. 

 

“Roxas!” I heard Sora shout. 

 

Looking left, I saw the living room. Sitting on a plush blue couch was a pair of blondes. One was staring at me in confusion and vague recognition. The blonde I had knocked to the sidewalk weeks ago. 

 

The other though, was staring at me in absolute shock. 

 

_ Ven. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ven.... you got some splainin to do!
> 
> Also _mi fragee_ is "My frog" in Naveen's language in The princess and the Frog (and it was confirmed that he is speaking a made up language based on romance languages. ... and no. it's not a particularly good pet name. Poor Naveen. 
> 
> And yes, somehow between Vanitas and Riku, they never managed to mention Ven around Sora. It wasn't on purpose, it's just one of those things that was never brought up.
> 
> Last Title Hint: Jesse McCartney did a cover of this song in 2006, though a female artist sang the original song in the movie.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last Chapter... and it's a little sad to see it go up. Like I said, I've been working on this fic for a while and it took me forever to figure out how to end it (though it was not the last nor the most difficult to write scene written for this fic. That was all of chapter 9 and parts of chapter 5). So... I hope ya'll like it. 
> 
> So, littleskyangel won my challenge of guessing the song referenced in the title. It was "I'll Try," from the movie _Peter Pan: Return to Neverland_. I've always loved this song (the movie not so much) and a lot of the overall tone in this fic was inspired by it. The version I listened to alot while writing this fic was this version by Jesse McCartney (and yes, I do recognize the irony of it): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2d9_llBiwAk

I stared at the two blondes on the couch, for a moment thinking I was seeing double. But one of the blondes was clearly the blonde I had knocked down the weeks ago. The other...

 

“Vanitas?” 

 

Ven got up from the couch. I felt like I couldn’t breath. He reached out, then stopped short of touching my arm. Withdrawing his hand he looked away for a moment. 

 

A hot rush of anger ran through me and on instinct, my fist made contact with his face. He was knocked back about a foot. 

 

“Ven!” a voice called out. 

 

“Hey!” another shouted. 

 

But I ignored both and instead wrapped my arms around my brother tightly so he could never escape again. This time there was no hesitation as Ven wrapped both arms around me and squeezed. My cheeks felt hot and I felt tears coming to my eyes, and I buried my face in my brother’s shoulder so no one could see. 

 

After a moment, I realized that Ven was mumbling something into my hair and I pulled away a little so I could hear better. 

 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry...” he said as we pulled away just far enough to look at each other. 

 

His eyes were full of tears too, streaming down his face as he pulled me back in for another hug. 

 

“I’m sorry...” I echoed, then pulled away to touch the bruise that was forming from where I hit him. “I... I just...”

 

“It’s alright, I think I deserved it...” He laughed and pulled away, but kept a tight hold of my wrist. “It’s been a long time.”

 

“Four years, 3 months,” I muttered, using the sleeve of my jacket to wipe at my eyes, “not that I’m keeping track...”

 

Another laugh and I glanced over to find Ven trying to rub away his own tears, “Right...” 

 

“Here,” another voice interrupted our moment. Glancing up I saw Mr. Leonhart offering Ven an ice pack. “No more fighting in the house though. You’ll have to take it outside.” 

 

He gave us a stern look and raised an eyebrow, completely ignoring Cloud who sighed and whispered “Seriously, Squall?”

 

The interaction startled me into letting out quiet chuckle and I felt Ven squeeze my wrist. 

 

“I think we need to talk...” he said. 

 

“You guys can use my room!” Sora offered, only to be pulled away by Roxas.

 

“Your room is still my room too, and I’m not offering, so sit down,” the younger blonde grumbled.

 

“Nah, I think we need the fresh air...” Or at least, I did. I could still feel the tear tracks on my face and I wanted to be doing something while having this conversation, even if it meant walking. Grey looked at me in concern, but I just took his hand and squeezed it gently, offering a smile. He seemed to understand, nodding in return before going to help his brother and Cloud set up the food. 

 

I headed towards the door, barely waiting to see if Ven would follow. I needn't have worried. After a placating his friends that he’d be fine, Ven followed me into the night air. 

 

We walked a few yards in silence. Now that the shock of seeing each other again had worn off, I now found his presence slightly awkward. This was the first time I could see my brother as both the Vanitas of here and now, and with the memories of so long ago. 

 

Looking at him now, I didn’t feel the hero worship I felt when I was younger, nor the burning mix of anger, annoyance and hatred I had felt in my memories. Now Ven was just... another person. Someone whom I would have to work to get to know. 

 

But... I’ve been doing that with other people ever since I moved to Radiant Garden. I wouldn’t be friends with Sora or Riku or Namine...and especially Grey, if I never took the effort to get to know them. 

 

I could do it again. 

 

“So.... who was the cute silver haired boy you were holding hands with?”

 

My cheeks were going to be permanently stained red if I kept blushing like this. I avoided his grin while I rubbed at my face to try and make the color go away. I heard him laughing beside me. “Shut up...” I grumbled, finally able to meet his eyes.

 

His grin was teasing as he poked my still red cheek. “I can’t help it... I wasn’t expecting to see you walk in, and I especially wasn’t expecting that.”

 

“What?! I can’t have a boyfriend?” another spike of anger ran through me, as well as a spot of fear. If Ven didn’t accept that, then I would turn around right now. I would be losing my brother again, but I wasn’t going to give Grey up for anyone. 

 

“Huh? Of course!” Ven raised his hands in a gesture of apology, “Sorry. I just meant... well... I just remember seeing you as... a kid. You didn’t seem the type for romance.”

 

“Yeah well...” I sighed and kicked a rock in our path. “People change.”

 

“Right...” Ven grinned. 

 

“So... you gonna explain the four years?” I turned a corner, heading for the park. I figured if we were going to have this talk, might as well be somewhere familiar. 

 

“Right...” Ven let out another sigh and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his own jacket. “Well... where do you want to start?”

 

“Day you left would be fine.”

 

“Right...well...” He gave a small shrug, “After I left the house, I walked to the next town. You remember how I saved up my money for a while?” At my nod, he continued, “I used that to purchase a bus ticket as close to the sea as I could get. But... ticket prices were a lot more expensive that I thought. It was only able to take me as far as Twilight Town... it’s a small town about 4 hours from the ocean... and a lot longer by foot. Which... was alright, as I would need money for a boat to get to Destiny Islands...And you know. Worked a few odd jobs here and there while staying in the local shelter.” He gave another small shrug like it was no big deal, but I could see the shadows in his eyes. 

 

“You never thought about just coming home after not getting where you wanted to go the first time?” I questioned. 

 

“I did... once or twice... but... Mas... I mean Grandfather. He made me feel uncomfortable.”

 

I did not miss that slip up. He nearly called Grandfather “Master”. As in Master Xehanort? “Ven...”

 

He held up a hand, cutting me off, “Can I finish first?”

 

I nodded and kept walking. Maybe he would say something else that would confirm what I was already thinking. 

 

“Anyway, I managed to find a nice old lady who ran an accessory shop. In exchange for work, she let me stay in the spare room. Then I met someone else who had moved from the Islands. I learned about Sora’s parents from him...”

 

“Yeah...” I muttered, “They died...”

 

“Yeah... The guy I talked to mentioned that the house I had the address for was sold, and they weren’t sure what happened to Sora or his brother,” another shrug. “I figured... after that, you know, I didn’t really have anywhere else to go. And I just turned 17 by then, so instead I began to raise the money to come back and get you.” He took a hold of my arm and I stopped in my tracks. “I... I never meant to be gone for so long. Or to leave you behind. I just... that summer before I left... Grandfather said something, and it scared me to death. I thought you’d be safer if we were apart.” 

 

“Yeah well...” Knowing that Xehanort remembered his past life, I had a feeling I knew what he might have said to Ven. I ran a hand through my hair, wincing when I hit the bump. I nearly forgot about Xehanort throwing me into the stairs earlier. 

 

Ven saw me flinch and his hands immediately went to my hair, “What’s wrong?” His fingers ran over the swelling and I flinched again. “What... what happened?”

 

“Yeah... your thought that I’d be safer with Grandfather? Totally didn’t work...” I sighed as his face fell and mouth opened, clearly ready to spew forth another apology, “It’s fine... well... no it’s not, but I’m fine. Really! It didn’t get this bad till... till quite recently.” At least... not that bad, but Ven didn’t need to know about that right now. 

 

“What happened?” The look in Ven’s eyes indicated that he wouldn’t accept any excuses. 

 

“Um, well...” I walked in silence for a bit, finally spotting the swings in the park and sitting down on one of them. Ven took the other. I sighed, decided to just ask. “Ven, do you remember before?”

 

Ven tilted his head, “Huh? Before I left? Of course, I mean... it took a while... there was this accident... and then...”

 

“No...” Absently, I kicked against the ground, moving the swing a little. “Do you remember...  _ before. _ ” I tried to emphasize the word, hoping that if he did remember, he’d get it. 

 

Glancing up at him, I realized that he did. His wide eyes stared at me for a moment, understanding crossing his features before he looked away. “You mean... before the Battle for Kingdom Hearts.”

 

“Is that what happened?” My memory was really fuzzy about that and Riku still hadn’t said what had happened to cause the worlds to become one again, “I’d wondered. But I can’t remember that quite yet. I mean... you know... before that. When you and I were... two halves of a whole.”

 

“Yeah...” Ven glanced up, “So... you remember?”

 

“Obviously.”

 

“Right...” He gave me an unsure look and I held back a sigh of annoyance. 

 

“Look, I don’t feel any sort of need to destroy you or something dumb like that. Like I said, people change. You’re my brother now, not some kind of wayward half.” I stared at him, willing him to believe me. 

 

Ven barely hesitated before he grinned, “Great!” He leaned in and gave me a hug. “Honestly though, that’s another reason why I left...” he pulled back and looked away again. “I got scared. I started remembering and Master Xehanort...er... Grandfather...”

 

“Let’s just go with Xehanort...” I offered, “He’s not been much of a Grandfather.... Or a Keyblade Master.” 

 

“Agreed,” Ven kicked at the ground, “Basically, he mentioned something about the [chi]-blade. Almost like he’s not given up on it. It came up during his research though, so I’m not sure if he remembers, or if it just...sparked something.”

 

“Oh, he remembers,” I rubbed at the bump again, “Kind of why we fought.” 

 

“Seriously!” Ven’s hand immediately went to my head again, though this time he was much more gentle. “That’s not good...”

 

“Yeah... and he wants to try it again. Open the door to Kingdom Hearts or whatever." I shook my head, noticing Ven's wide-eye concern. "But, what can he actually do? There’s no magic or keyblades in this world...”

 

“True, but I wouldn't put it past him to try,” Ven shook his head as he got off of the swing. “...Look, it didn’t just take me a few years to get back to you. I manage to raise enough to get to Radiant Garden about a year ago. I even found a good job that was willing to let me live in a spare room too. It had an extra bed.” He placed a hand on my shoulder, “I figured, even with all these new memories, you were still my little brother, and I planned to come back and take you here. I was making plans, I even sent you a-”

 

“A postcard,” I cut in, remembering the colorful card that was hidden between the pages of a notebook in my backpack. “I got it...”

 

“You did? Great!” Ven grinned, but then it slowly faded. “But... I was on my way home from the post office... and I don’t... I don’t really remember what happened next. I was crossing a street, I think. Then... I dunno. I woke up in front of Master Eraqus’s martial arts studio. Terra and Aqua found me and brought me to the hospital. I couldn’t remember anything from this life, just the last. So while I could remember you--”

 

“You didn’t know I was your brother...” I finished. 

 

“Right...” He shook his head, “This is so stupid. It’s like fate or something.”

 

“Yeah... or something.” I suddenly had a thought to what Xehanort had said earlier. 

 

_...when we open Kingdom Hearts again... _

 

Ven had lost his memories the last time too due to Xehanort’s meddling. Was he just trying to repeat the past? 

 

Or was it all _really_ just fate?

 

“Ven? I don’t think losing your memories was an coincidence.”

 

“Huh? What do you--” Ven was cut off by a ringing from his pocket. Startled, he pulled out his phone and clicked a button to answer. “Wait a moment... Aqua?... Yeah, I’m okay I--” He was cut off by a panicked voice on the other end. “What? What do you mean he... Oh...” Ven glanced at me. I moved closer, trying to hear what Aqua was saying. 

 

_ “...Sora and Riku left to follow him, but I don’t know how much he knows.. _ .” Aqua said, worry clearly evident in her tone. 

 

“Vanitas says he knows everything...” Ven answered. 

 

_ “.... you should come back... At least until we can get Master Eraqus. Terra left to go pick him up...” _

 

“Yeah... we’ll be right there...” Ven hurried to hang up. “C’mon we gotta--”

 

“Head back? Why?”

 

“Xehanort paid a visit to Leon’s house. Aqua said that he was looking for you... and me.”

 

“He knows you’re here...” I then looked down at my feet, “I bet he always knew you were here.”

 

“I do too,” Ven looked back at me, “I think he’s the reason I lost my memories...” 

 

I nodded in agreement and started down the path back to Mr. Leonhart’s house. “C’mon then, I know the way back...”

 

Together we ran down to the park entrance and turned down the sidewalk.

 

Suddenly, the quiet and usually empty streets of this part of Radiant Garden didn’t seem as peaceful as when Grey and I took our evening walks. The cold seemed to settle in faster, even as we ran. 

 

“Up there right?!” Ven pointed the the front porch light of Mr. Leonhart’s house, and I nodded. “Race ya!” he grinned, trying to make light of the situation, and put on a burst of speed. 

 

I huffed, but made an effort to catch up. He reached the street curb moments before I did and barely looked before he began to cross. 

 

Suddenly, out of the corner of my eye, I saw bright lights begin to speed towards Ven. Distantly, I registered it was a same make and color as Grandfather’s car. 

 

“Ven!” I shouted.

 

Startled, he paused in the middle of the street, then got blinded by the headlights. I jumped from the curb and crashed into him.

 

We both tumbled into the street. I could barely breath as I landed on my arm, pain shooting through me.  

 

“Vanitas!” I heard Ven shout, shaking me, “Vanitas!”

 

“Fine...’m fine...” I tried to catch my breath but gasped as pain shot through my left arm with every breath. I glanced down. It didn’t seem broken, but I still could have twisted it or something. 

 

I heard tires squeal, then the sound of a car backing up. Letting out another groan, I tried to push Ven out of the street, “C’mon, we gotta get to the sidewalk.” 

 

He nodded, but when he made to get up, he let out a startled shout and looked to his foot, which was starting to swell. Great, it might also be twisted or broken. Taking a deep breath, I managed to get to my feet. Other than a few other bruises, it was only my wrist that ached, and I held it close to my chest even as I used my good hand to grab Ven and pull him to his feet. Together we limped to the sidewalk, stepping up on the curb just as the car rolled to a stop. The window rolled down and I saw Xehanort smirking at us. 

 

“Vanitas... Ventus...I have been looking everywhere for you. You gave your grandfather quite a fright....”

 

“Shut up...” I growled, pushing Ven behind me. 

 

“Hmph...” Xehanort scoffed and shifted the car into park, stepping out and coming around to the sidewalk. 

 

“Ven!”

 

“Vani!” 

 

“Vanitas!”

 

I heard a front door slam shut and footsteps hurried over. Grey reached us first and after a quick glance at my face and aching wrist he stood by my side, ready to fight. Aqua wasn’t far behind, with Mr. Leonhart and Cloud. Mr. Leonhart appeared to have a gun out, pointed towards the ground, but his glare indicated that he was prepared to use it if need be. Cloud was carrying something as well and it took me a second glance to realize it was a very,  _ very _ large sword. 

 

“Ven! Vanitas!” 

 

“Grey! Get Vanitas and Ven out of here!”

 

Startled, I turned and looked as Sora and Riku ran up to is from the opposite end of the street, evidently having followed Xehanort as he just took a leisurely drive around the block till we returned. 

 

Grey grabbed my hand, but I refused to move. I wasn’t going to run away. 

 

“I’m not going to let you hurt him, Xehanort...” I glared at my former master. “I’m not going to let you hurt any of them.”

 

“Now... is that anyway to speak to your Grandfather?” He glared at me expectantly. I met his golden eyed gaze with my own and he let out a sigh. “So... I can’t persuade you to return to my side. After all that these people have done to you?”

 

“Shut up!” I shouted. “I’m not that person anymore. And I’m not going to let you make me become him again. I’m not going back to that.”

 

Xehanort opened his mouth to respond, but another voice cut in instead. 

 

“Xehanort. That is enough...” 

 

Startled I glanced down the street where Terra was helping another old man out of a car that had driven up without any of us noticing. The man had greying dark hair pulled out of his face, and was leaning heavily on a cane. He appeared to be nearly as old as Xehanort, but his face was softer... almost kinder. 

 

“Ah... Eraqus, my old friend,” Xehanort grinned. “I see you’ve met my grandsons.”

 

“Just the one you left on my doorstep, so many years ago...” He walked up to me and smiled. I couldn’t help but smile back, “I have not had to pleasure to meet this one...” He held out a wrinkled hand and I took it with my good hand without thinking. Despite his age, his grip was strong. 

 

“Vanitas...” I said softly. 

 

“Vanitas,” he repeated, “I am Eraqus...”

 

“Nice to meet you...” I responded quietly.

 

“Well... at least you taught him good manners...” Eraqus turned back to Xehanort and placed both hands on his cane. “Xehanort. Can’t  you just let the past go?”

 

“Never...” Xehanort scoffed, “Not now that we know that the worlds can be brought back together. Don’t you wonder what would happen if they were separated again? Would they go back exactly to how they were before? And what of the darkness in people’s hearts? With no heartless in this realm, where does the darkness go?”

 

“Those questions are best left unanswered,” Eraqus stated, and I couldn’t help but agree. 

 

“Will you ever be happy with how things are?” Riku asked, “Congratulations, you found out what happened after the keyblade war. Now can’t we just live?”

 

Xehanort scoffed again. “Foolish boy... You’re just content because you finally got your happy ending.”

 

Riku’s cheeks reddened, but Sora took his hand and gave a squeeze, glaring at Xehanort in return. “Just stop it, okay? You can't keep treating people like they’re experiments. They’re not just bottles on a shelf for you to take down when you need them.”

 

“Tch...” Xehanort ignored his words and looked back at me. “Last chance boy. Come back now.”

 

This time it was my turn to scoff. “No way. Not even an option.” Grey squeezed my hand, and I squeezed back. “I’m not interested with what you have to offer. I’ve got all I need right here.”

 

Xehanort stared at us all for one last time, but after a moment or two, he stepped back and returned to his car, getting in quickly. His tires squealed as he raced down the road.

 

As soon as his tail lights were out of sight, I let out a breath I didn’t realize I had been holding.

 

“Vani? Vanitas!”

 

Grey’s panicked shout startled me and I realized that in my moment of relief, I had collapsed into him. He nearly buckled under my weight, and I tried to support my own weight again, but leaning against him gratefully. 

 

“Vanitas!” Ven tried to step towards me, but collapsed the minute he put his weight onto his bad ankle. “Ack!”

 

“Ven!” Terra immediately ran over and looked the blonde over, “What’s wrong?”

 

“I’m fine...” Ven gasped as he tried to stand again, “It’s just my ankle...” He stumbled again when he tried to stand. 

 

Terra huffed and instead picked Ven up, easily swinging him into his arms like I’d seen the princes do to princesses in movies. I couldn’t help but let out a pained laugh at Ven’s look if indignation. 

 

“Terra! I can walk!” the blonde started to wiggle, trying to escape the hold, but Terra just held on like Ven wasn’t even trying. 

 

“Don’t move too much!” Cloud advised, “Hopefully it’s just a sprain..”

 

“Were you hurt too, Vanitas?” Mr. Leonhart asked, coming over to inspect my arm. 

 

Hesitantly I held it out and he gently poked and prodded before nodding, “I think it’s just heavily bruised. We’ll put some ice on it and wrap Ven’s ankle.”

 

Together, we walked back to Mr. Leonhart’s house in some sort of strange parade. Terra carried Ven all the way back, everyone else trailing behind, while Grey and I brought up the rear. Grey didn’t to let go of my hand the whole walk.

 

“So... has your Grandfather always been kind of crazy?” Grey whispered. 

 

Startled I looked at him, then realized that to someone who didn’t have any memories of a previous life, Xehanort’s ramblings would have sounded insane. “Yeah... something like that.”

 

“I’m glad you’re not going back there then...” He looked at me, “You’re  _ not _ going back... right?”

 

It’s funny, but it wasn’t till Grey mentioned it that I realized that I really couldn’t go back. 

 

I didn’t have a home now. 

 

“Yeah... I’m not going back to live with him ... ever.”

 

“It appears that you’ll need a place to stay then.” 

 

We were both startled by Eraqus’s soft commanding voice. He smiled and patted me on the shoulder, “We will discuss that later though. Go get some ice for that wrist...”

 

I nodded and followed Grey inside. The silver haired boy sat me on the couch next to Ven who was still arguing with Terra over being carried back. 

 

“I’m not a damsel in distress, you musclehead!” 

 

Terra laughed, depositing Ven on the sofa and ruffling his hair. “But you’re all small and pretty like one!”

 

“Terra!” Ven stuck out his tongue in exasperation and huffed, leaning back against the couch. “ _ Your _ boyfriend isn’t like that, right?”

 

Startled I realized he was talking to me. I let out a grin, taking a seat and watching as Grey went to grab the bag of ice from Mr. Leonhart, and then stopping quickly to grab a plate of food the others must have left out for Ven and I for when we got back. “Nah... he’s a lot nicer.”

 

“See! Why can’t you be nice like Vanitas’s boyfriend?”

 

Terra chuckled, going to grab Ven’s plate instead of answering passing it towards the blonde with a grin. Grey returned as well and helped me manage my plate so I could hold the ice against my wrist.

 

Ven and I ate quietly but eagerly. Aqua wrapped Ven’s sprained foot and Cloud retrieved some crutches for him to borrow while it healed. I watched as Master Eraqus and Leon talked quietly in the kitchen, Sora and Riku nearby to answer any questions that Eraqus had. I knew they were likely talking about what to do with me, and though part of me was irritated they weren’t including me in that conversation, another bigger part was just relieved I didn’t have to make any decisions about it right now. 

 

“Kinda feels weird to be here,” Grey murmured quietly, the words just for me alone. “I’m intruding on a family reunion a bit.”

 

Quickly, I grabbed his hand and squeezed tight. “Never. You’re part of my family too.” 

 

Grey hid his face in my neck, but I felt him huff in agreement and squeeze my hand. On my other side, I saw Ven grinning at us, eyes fond. I felt my own cheeks heat up, but for once, I wasn’t annoyed with the emotion. 

 

Just content.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So yeah that's it.... or is it?!
> 
> Well, it is for this fic. But I do have a series of...well... epilogues? sorta? And by series, I mean series. I'll be posting them as a separate fic because there are 10 of them (one side story for (nearly) every "main" character that appears in this fic...plus a few that don't really appear in this fic but are important). First up is Ven and I will post his story on Wednesday (hopefully, if no,t definitely next Sunday). I made this fic and the next one as part of a series, so subscribe to that to get updated when I upload it. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who commented and left kudos! The support was amazing. I especially want to thank LawnNinja for leaving a review on every chapter (and pretty much on everything I have ever written for KH) because it's amazing and I'm pretty sure without that support in my earlier fics, this fic wouldn't have been finished for another year. Thank you, thank you, thank you, so much! :D

**Author's Note:**

> Again, please let me know of any glaring errors. I edit all my fics myself. 
> 
> This entire fic is written and I will try to update on a weekly basis as I edit. So please look out for the next chapter!
> 
> ~~P.S. Challenge: The title is a reference to a song. Who ever figures the song out first will win a prize: A Kingdom Hearts One-Shot (minimum 2500 words- maximum 5000 words) written by me based on your prompt! :D~~ **challenge won!**
> 
> ~~Hints for the song will be posted in every odd chapter until a winner emerges!~~


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